The Effectiveness of the Safety and Home Injury Prevention for Seniors: A Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial

TL;DR

This study aims to test a program designed to prevent home injuries in older adults by improving their safety awareness and behaviors.

Contribution

The novel contribution is a health belief model-based intervention protocol for preventing unintentional home injuries in older adults.

Findings

The SHIPs program is expected to reduce home injuries among older adults.

The program may improve participants' awareness and preventive behaviors regarding safety.

It could enhance physical and psychological health and overall quality of life.

Abstract

Background: The majority of injuries among older adults occur due to unexpected and sudden incidents in the home environment. This study aimed to develop a protocol for the design of the health belief model-based program for preventing unintentional home injuries in older adults and to evaluate the effectiveness of the program. Methods: The study proposed in this protocol, Safety and Home Injury Prevention for Seniors (SHIPs), is a single-blind, parallel-group, randomized controlled trial. A total of 54 Korean older adults (≥65 years) will be randomly assigned to either (1) the intervention group (n = 27), which will receive the SHIPs program, or (2) the control group (n = 27), which will attend four lecture-only sessions. The efficacy of the program will be assessed via tests performed at baseline, 1 week after program completion, and 1 month after program completion, and analyses of the changes in injury occurrences, risk factors, preventive behaviors, beliefs about safety and injury prevention, psychological health, physiological function, and health-related quality of life. Expected Results: The SHIPs intervention is expected to reduce home injuries and enhance awareness and preventive behaviors among community-dwelling older adults. It may also improve their physical and psychological health and overall quality of life. Conclusions: The SHIPs intervention may serve as an effective community-based strategy to promote injury prevention and improve the overall well-being of older adults.

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