Effects of preventive home visits to elderly people living in the community: systematic review.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To assess the effects of preventive home visits to elderly people living in the community.

Design

Systematic review.

Setting

15 trials retrieved from Medline, Embase, and the Cochrane controlled trial register.

Main outcome measures

Physical function, psychosocial function, falls, admissions to institutions, and mortality.

Results

Considerable differences in the methodological quality of the 15 trials were found, but in general the quality was considered adequate. Favourable effects of the home visits were observed in 5 out of 12 trials measuring physical functioning, 1 out of 8 measuring psychosocial function, 2 out of 6 measuring falls, 2 out of 7 measuring admissions to institutions, and 3 of 13 measuring mortality. None of the trials report

SUBMITTER: van Haastregt JC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC27318 | biostudies-literature | 2000 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature