@article{ref1,
title="Activity, balance, learning, and exposure (ABLE): a new intervention for fear of falling",
journal="International journal of geriatric psychiatry",
year="2016",
author="Wetherell, Julie Loebach and Johnson, Kristen and Chang, Douglas and Ward, Samuel R. and Bower, Emily S. and Merz, Caroline and Petkus, Andrew J.",
volume="31",
number="7",
pages="791-798",
abstract="OBJECTIVE: Fear of falling is an important problem among older adults, even those with relatively low rates of objective fall risk, who are often overlooked as targets for intervention. <br><br>METHOD: We developed and pilot tested a new intervention, Activity, Balance, Learning, and Exposure (ABLE), in a sample of 10 older adults with excessive fear of falling. The ABLE intervention integrates exposure therapy and cognitive restructuring with a home safety evaluation and an exercise program and is conducted in the home. In this pilot project, ABLE was jointly conducted by a physical therapist and a psychologist with expertise in geriatric anxiety disorders. <br><br>RESULTS: The intervention was feasible and acceptable and resulted in decreases in fear and activity avoidance for most participants. One participant experienced an injurious fall. <br><br>DISCUSSION: We learned a number of important lessons resulting in modifications to the inclusion criteria, assessments, and intervention over the course of this pilot study. <br><br>RESULTS suggest that ABLE has promise for treating excessive fear of falling in the elderly and support testing the intervention in a larger randomized trial. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0885-6230",
doi="10.1002/gps.4393",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/gps.4393"
}