Systematic review for the prevention and management of falls and fear of falling in patients with Parkinson's disease

Abstract

Objective: To synthesize recent empirical evidence for the prevention and management of falls and fear of falling in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Data source: Database from PubMed, Cochrane Library, and EMBASE. Study design: Systematic review. Data collection: We searched the PubMed, Cochrane Library, and EMBASE databases for studies published from inception to February 27, 2021. Inclusion criteria were nonreview articles on prevention and management measures related to falls and fall prevention in Parkinson's disease patients. Principal findings: We selected 45 articles and conducted in-depth research and discussion. According to the causes of falls in PD patients, they were divided into five directions, namely physical status, pre-existing conditions, environment, medical care, and cognition. In the cognitive domain, we focused on the fear of falling. On the above basis, we constructed a fall prevention model, which is a tertiary prevention health care network, based on The Johns Hopkins Fall Risk Assessment Tool to provide ideas for the prevention and management of falling and fear of falling in PD patients in clinical practice. Conclusions: Falls and fear of falls in patients with Parkinson's disease can be reduced by effective clinical prevention and management. Future studies are needed to explore the efficacy of treatment and prevention of falls and fear of falls.