CatchU: A Quantitative Multisensory Falls-Assessment Study

Inclusion Criteria

• •1. Adults aged 65 and older, residing in New York Metropolitan area who plan to be in area for next three or more years.
• •2. Able to speak English at a level sufficient to undergo our assessment battery.
• •3. Ambulatory. Participants are classified as 'non-ambulatory' if they are unable to leave the confines of their home and attend a clinic visit. These include participants who are bed-bound as a result of severe medical illness or those who require assistive medical devices (respiratory support or ventilators) that cannot be transported or those who cannot complete our mobility protocols. We will not exclude participants who use walking aids (canes, crutches) for ambulation. Participants who require walking aids to walk outside but are able to complete our mobility protocols without an assistive device or the assistance of another person will not be excluded.
• •3. Mobility limitations solely due to musculoskeletal limitation or pain (e.g., severe osteoarthritis) that prevent participants from completing mobility tests.
• •4. Any medical condition or chronic medication use (e.g., neuroleptics) in the judgment of the screening clinician that will compromise safety or affect cognitive functioning or terminal illness with life expectancy less than 12 months.
• •5. Progressive, degenerative neurologic disease (e.g., Parkinson's disease or ALS) diagnosed by study clinician or as per medical history.
• •6. Presence of clinical disorders that overtly alter attention like delirium.
• •7. Hospitalized in the past 6 months for severe illness or surgery that specifically affects mobility (e.g., hip or knee replacement) and that prevent participants from completing mobility tests or plans for surgery affecting mobility in the next 6 months.
• •8. Severe auditory, visual, or somatosensory self-reported impairments. Visual acuity will be screened using a Snellen chart by the psychological assistant. Presence of neuropathy will be assessed using the Michigan Neuropathy Screening Instrument.