The p-value is the statistical measure to determine how likely or unlikely your observed outcome is a result of chance (Mcleod). The study that I chose to examine the research is titled Exercise to prevent falls in older adults by Sherrington, et, al. The trial had 99 comparisons from 88 different trials that involved 19,478 participants. What it discovered is that community-dwelling older adults reduced the fall rate by 21% when participating in a program that involved balance exercise of at least 3 hours per week [pooled rate ratio 0.79, 95% CI 0.73 to 0.85, p<0.001, I2 47%, 69 comparisons] (Sherrington). As well as an effect of reducing falls in community-dwelling people with Parkinson’s disease (pooled rate ratio 0.47, 95% CI 0.30 to 0.73, p=0.001, I2 65%, 6 comparisons) or cognitive impairment (pooled rate ratio 0.55, 95% CI 0.37 to 0.83, p=0.004, I2 21%, 3 comparisons) [Sherrington].
What this shows is that exercise programs that involve balance as a core focus is beneficial in reducing the number of falls in community-dwelling older adults and can greatly impact there independence and lifestyle. The need for healthcare workers especially nurses to incorporate this into the care plans for our patients is vital and can reduce unexpected costs and untimely deaths in this population. The baby boomer generation is the largest geriatric population in history and by reducing falls we can reduce reduce the number of beds taken by these individuals and prevent another shortage.
Sherrington, C., Michaleff, Z. A., Fairhall, N., Paul, S. S., Tiedemann, A., Whitney, J., Cumming, R. G., Herbert, R. D., Close, J. C. T., & Lord, S. R. (2017). Exercise to prevent falls in older adults: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis. British journal of sports medicine, 51(24), 1750–1758. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2016-096547
Mcleod, S. (2023). P-values and statistical significance. Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/p-value.html