Steady As You Go (SAYGO): A Falls-Prevention Program for Seniors Living in the Community

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study was an implementation and community trial of a new falls-prevention program for seniors called Steady As You Go (SAYGO). The program, designed in the Capital Health region of Alberta, integrated the knowledge gained from successful falls-prevention research into a brief community intervention. SAYGO included a multifactorial, risk-abatement approach, as well as a cognitive-behavioural and environmental focus. The target population was relatively healthy and mobile, community-dwelling seniors. The randomized community trial was conducted in urban and rural areas in Alberta, with 660 seniors participating. Seniors who completed the program made significant reductions in eight of the nine risk factors addressed in the program. Over a 4-month follow-up period, the proportion of seniors who fell was lower in the treatment group (17%) than in the control group (23%). Among those seniors who had reported a fall in the previous year, a significantly lower proportion of those in the treatment group experienced a fall in the follow-up period (20%) as compared to those in the control group (35%).