Assessment of Applicability of Guidelines for Fall Prevention Exercise of Elderly People

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to analyze the suitability and applicability of the recommendations for the exercise intervention program in fall prevention guidelines for the elderly. Methods: We searched systematically RISS, KISS, National Assembly Library, KoreaMed, and KM base for Korean guidelines and used OVID-MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane library, Trip database, GIN, NGC, WHO, and CDC for international guidelines including fall prevention exercises for the elderly until August 2016. Results: A total of 11 guidelines were selected as the result of the literature search. After evaluating the quality of guidelines, 9 guidelines were used to analyze the recommendations. A total of 19 recommendations were derived from 9 guidelines. Of 19 recommendations, 12 recommendations were considered to be appropriate and applicable. As a result, we recommend for the elderly to do a single type of balance exercise, strength exercise, aerobic exercise or multiple forms of exercise for 20~30 minutes per a day, 2~3 days or more than 3 days per a week, and consistently for more than 10 weeks. Conclusion: To prevent falls in the elderly, it is important for the elderly to perform a regular balance, strength, or aerobic exercise for 20~30 minutes per a day, 2~3 days per a week.