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Table 3 Adherence to the Prevention of Falls Network Europe (ProFaNE) recommendations

From: Appraising the uptake and use of recommendations for a common outcome data set for clinical trials: a case study in fall injury prevention

Recommendation 1: Domains and considerations (n = 34)

Yes – n (%)

1.1 Inclusion of domains

Domains reported on:

 Falls

32 (94)

 Fall injury

16 (47)

 Psychological consequences

7 (21)

 Health-related quality of life

8 (24)

 Physical activity

8 (24)

Recommendation 2; Falls (n = 32)

Yes – n (%)

2.1 Recommended definition

 Defined a fall as ‘an unexpected event in which the participants come to rest on the ground, floor or lower level’

24 (75)

2.2 Lay perspective

 Considered lay perspective during ascertainment of information

5 (16)

 Asked participants: ‘In the past month, have you had any fall including a slip or trip in which you lost your balance and landed on the floor or ground or lower level?’

0 (0)

2.3 Methods and systems for recording falls information

 Used daily prospective recording

26 (81)

 Used a notification system with a minimum of monthly reporting

19 (59)

 Used a telephone or face-to-face interview to rectify missing data and ascertain further details of falls

19 (59)

2.4 Summarising of fall data

 Reported number of falls

25 (78)

 Reported number of fallers

26 (81)

 Reported number of non-fallers

26 (81)

 Reported number of frequent fallers

16 (50)

 Reported fall rate per person year

16 (50)

 Reported time to first fall

8 (25)

2.5 Covariate adjustment and further data summaries

 Did not adjust for physical activity in primary analysis

32 (100)

 Reported absolute risk difference between groups

1 (3)

Recommendation 3: Injuries (n = 16)

Yes – n (%)

3.1 Recommended measure

  Reported number of radiologically confirmed peripheral fracture events per person year

0 (0)

3.2 Classification of injuries

 

  Used the International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision, classification system to classify injuries

0 (0)

3.3 Methods and systems for recording injury information

  Used daily prospective recording

11 (69)

  Used a notification system with a minimum of monthly reporting

10 (63)

  Used a telephone or face-to-face intervention to rectify missing data and ascertain further details of injuries

11 (69)

3.4 Summarising of injury data

  Reported peripheral fracture rate per person year of follow-up

0 (0)

  Reported number of peripheral fractures

0 (0)

  Reported number of people sustaining peripheral fractures

0 (0)

  Reported number of people sustaining multiple peripheral fractures

0 (0)

3.5 Covariate adjustment and further data summaries

  Did not adjust for physical activity in primary analysis

16 (100)

  Reported absolute risk difference between groups

0 (0)

Recommendation 4: Psychological consequences of falling (n = 7)

Yes – n (%)

4.1 Recommended measure

  Used the recommended modified Falls Efficacy Scale (mFES)

1 (14)

4.2 Scoring of measure

  Scored mFES as per published guidance

1 (14)

Recommendation 5: Health-related quality of life (n = 8)

Yes – n (%)

5.1 Recommended measure

  Used a recommended measure of health-related quality of life

4 (50)

  Measured health-related quality of life using:

  Short Form 12 (SF-12)

1 (13)

  European Quality of Life Instrument (EQ-5D)

3 (38)

Recommendation 6: Physical activity (n = 8)

Yes – n (%)

6.1 Outcome measure

  Used any measure of physical activity

8 (100)

Recommendation 7; Time points for follow-up

Yes – n (%)

7.1 Length of follow-up assessment

  Reported at follow-up of ≥12 months in domain of:

  Falls

24 (75)

  Injuries

15 (94)

  Psychological consequences of falling

3 (43)

  Health-related quality of life

3 (38)

  Physical activity

6 (75)

  1. The recommendations were most frequently cited in the methods section of articles (n = 24), but were also cited in the introduction or background (n = 4) and discussion (n = 9)