However, providing walking aids such as canes, or communication enhancers such as hearing aids and personal alarm systems, did not decrease falls.
Similarly, changes in footwear were effective in some cases but not in others. The use of balance-enhancing insoles cut the rate of falls but not the risk of falls, and was beneficial primarily to patients who had disabling foot pain. The use of an antislip device on outdoor shoes decreased falls only in adverse weather conditions.
The evidence for or against patient education was inconclusive because of insufficient data at this time.
"As the majority of trials specifically excluded older people who were cognitively impaired, the results of this review may not be applicable to this important group of people at risk [for falling]," Dr. Gillespie and associates said.
Similarly, their review excluded trials involving patients with Parkinson’s disease and recovering stroke patients, "as we felt the results of interventions for those neurological conditions were not necessarily applicable to older people as a whole," they added.
No financial conflicts of interest were reported.