Fall Risk Intervention for Stroke

Summary

After stroke, falling is a common problem. Falls can lead to injury, as well as fear of future falls. It is important to try to prevent falls from happening after stroke. To goal of this study is to test a new treatment to try to prevent falls after stroke. The people in the study will be patients who are in the hospital receiving care after a stroke. While they are in the hospital, the investigators will provide extra treatment that focuses on helping them not to fall. The investigators will also teach the patients to understand risks for falls and how to avoid them. When they leave the hospital, participants will be sent a text message every day to ask if they have had any falls. The goal is to see if patients who received the extra therapy have fewer falls than patients who did not receive the therapy and education to help avoid falls. If the extra treatment in the hospital can help stop people from falling after they leave the hospital, this will have a positive impact on their lives. By not falling, they will avoid the risk of injury and having to go back to the hospital. This project will help the investigators know how to help people with stroke live longer, healthier lives.

Conditions

• Stroke

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Fall Prevention Intervention

The fall prevention rehabilitation program will be provided by a licensed physical therapist and will target modifiable fall risk factors known to be associated with future fall risk after inpatient rehabilitation for stroke. The intervention will be personalized to the individual's fall risk profile at admission. Participants will be educated about physical, cognitive/attentional, and environmental factors associated with falls.

BEHAVIORAL

Active Control

The control intervention will not include any of the key ingredients in the experimental intervention. The activities will not target known modifiable factors for fall risk, but the treatment will be a skilled therapy by a licensed provider, matching the dose of the experimental intervention. Participants in the control group will receive education about stroke, stroke recovery, stroke prevention, wellness, and community support groups.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• MGH Institute of Health Professions

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Prudence Plummer, PhD · MGH Institute of Health Professions

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

45 Years

Max Age

85 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2026-04-01

Primary Completion

2027-10-31

Completion

2027-12-31

Countries

• United States

Study Locations