What Is It?

Many older adults experience a fear of falling. People who develop this fear often limit their activities, which can result in physical weakness, making the risk of falling even greater. A Matter of Balance: Managing Concerns About Falls is a program designed for empowerment to reduce the fear of falling and increase activity levels among older adults.

A Matter of Balance includes eight two-hour sessions for a small group led by a trained facilitator. This nationally recognized program was developed at the Roybal Center at Boston University.

Who should attend A Matter of Balance Class?

The program was designed to benefit community-dwelling older adults who:

Have had a fall in the past year, or have a fear of falling
Walk independently or with a cane or walker
Are able to participate in a group discussion
Live in their own home or other independent living facility
Are able to converse in English (some classes are given in Spanish)
Have a desire to learn how to reduce their risk of falling
Have a desire to improve balance, flexibility and strength

What are the components of A Matter of Balance?

A Matter of Balance is a structured group intervention that utilizes a variety of activities to address physical, social and cognitive factors affecting fear of falling and to teach fall prevention strategies. The activities include group discussion, problem-solving, skill building, assertiveness training, videotapes, sharing practical solutions and exercise training.

During the class, participants learn to:

View falls and fear of falling as controllable
Set goals for increasing activity
Change their environment to reduce fall risk factors (uses a home safety evaluation and action planner to reduce fall risk hazards in the home and community).
Promote exercise to increase strength and balance

Each of the eight sessions is two hours in length, including a break for light refreshments. Early sessions focus on changing attitudes and self-efficacy before attempting changes in actual behavior. The exercise component, which begins in the third session, takes about 30 minutes of the session to complete.