An evidence advent calendar!

It turns out that Cochrane’s for Christmas, not just for life, with evidence in the Cochrane Library on all manner of festive things from gold, frankincense and myrrh to stockings! Ok, some of the links are a bit tenuous, but we hope you’ll enjoy our advent calendar.

Owing to some trouble with the technology elves, we couldn’t make it interactive (boo!) but each day we’ll post some Cochrane evidence related to the day’s picture, below the calendar. If you think of any others, do share them via the comments box.

After stroke: the Cinderella of falls prevention research

Key message: There is a lack of evidence on interventions which aim to prevent falls in people after they have had a stroke. This is in contrast to good evidence on some effective  preventive measures for older people living in the community.

It’s Age UK’s annual Falls Awareness Week this week, with an emphasis this year on healthy feet. The excellent review from the Cochrane Bone, Joint and Muscle Trauma Group on preventing falls in older people living in the community, which we blogged about when it was updated last autumn, has useful evidence on a range of strategies to prevent falls, including some relating to feet!

How best to prevent falls in older people in care homes and hospitals remains unclear despite large body of evidence

Key message: In care facilities, amongst people with low levels of vitamin D, vitamin D supplementation reduces the rate of falls. Evidence on other strategies to prevent falls in hospitals and care facilities is inconclusive.

Keeping the over-65s on their feet: new review evidence tells us how

Keeping the over-65’s on their feet

The second review, from the Cochrane Bone, Joint and Muscle Trauma Group, looked at falls prevention interventions for people aged over 65 living in the community. This review is really important for all those working to prevent falls in this population, around 30% of whom will fall each year.Key message: group exercise classes and exercises at home are amongst a number of strategies found to help prevent falls in people aged over 65 living in the community.