Evaluating the use of a new balance test on engagement with rehabilitation
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The use of a new balance test (mini-BESTest) to improve patient engagement with rehabilitation, in community-dwelling elderly patients with balance deficits: A feasibility study.
IRAS ID
238855
Contact name
Ian Swaine
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Greenwich
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
19/HY/0107, REC
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 6 months, 30 days
Research summary
Falls are common in the elderly population. About 30% of persons aged over 65 years and 50% over 80 years fall every year.
A fall can affect a person in many different ways: physical (broken bones, pain, bruises), social (isolation, avoiding going out and meeting people), psychological (anxiety, depression, fear of falling, withdrawal, loss of role).
Preventing or minimising the number of falls is important for patients, their families and wider society.
Exercising and increasing physical activity can reduce the risk of falling. But, it is not always easy for the elderly to commence exercises and maintain an appropriate activity level over a long period of time. However, people who have a good understanding of their individual health problems are more likely to engage in health-related programmes and stay motivated for longer.
We have good reason to believe that we can improve patients' understanding of their balance problems (hence improving their engagement) by using one of the new balance tests (mini-BESTest). However, we cannot be sure.Therefore, we would like to carry out a small-scale study to test whether the mini-BESTest can improve patients' engagement with a rehabilitation programme, more than a standard balance test (Tinetti).
We would like to assess 20 participants, allocated at random to 2 groups. Both groups will be assessed using a standard test (Tinetti) and the intervention group will be additionally assessed using the mini-BESTest.
We will monitor engagement in all of the patients, throughout the rehabilitation programme (12 weeks).At the end, we hope to know whether it is worth exploring the effects of the mini-BESTest in a larger study.
REC name
London - Bloomsbury Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/LO/0600
Date of REC Opinion
15 Apr 2019
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion