OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of short-term exercise intervention on falls self-efficacy and to evaluate the relationships between baseline falls self-efficacy and changes in physical function in older people. DESIGN: Single-blinded randomized controlled trial. The participants were 171 subjects aged 65 and older. They were randomly assigned into an exercise intervention group or a health education group. The subjects in the exercise intervention group performed an exercise program for 3 mos. Falls self-efficacy was measured using the falls efficacy scale (FES). The measurements of physical function included static and dynamic balance, walking velocity, flexibility, and strength. RESULTS: There was no significant improvement of FES in either group. But there were significant negative correlations between baseline FES score and the change in maximum walking velocity (r = -0.29, p < 0.018) and knee extensor strength (r = -0.25, p < 0.040. Linear regression analysis showed that the change in static balance was related to baseline FES. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that a short-term exercise intervention had no effect, possibly because of the high baseline FES scores of the participants, on the confidence of community-dwelling older persons. However, the negative association between FES score and increases in some measures of function suggest that short-term exercise may be beneficial to a subset of older persons with lower FES scores.

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