The Impact of a Randomized Controlled Trial Testing the Implementation of Function-Focused Care in Assisted Living on Resident Falls, Hospitalizations, and Nursing Home Transfers

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to test the impact of function-focused care on adverse outcomes in assisted living. This was a randomized trial including 85 settings. The age of the 794 recruited participants was 89.48 (SD = 7.43) years, the majority was female (n = 561, 71%) and White (n = 771, 97%). The percentage of residents in the treatment group experiencing a fall decreased at 12 months from 26% to 20% and the control group increased from 24% to 25%, p = .02. A greater percentage of residents in the treatment group transferred to nursing facilities at 4 months (4–1% in control vs. 4–5% in treatment, p = .02) and 12 months (4–2% in control and 4–7% in treatment, p = .01). There was no treatment effect on emergency room or hospital transfers. The findings support the safety of function-focused care related to falls and need for hospital transfers.