Can a simple light reduce night falls in dementia patients?
NCT ID NCT05973448
First seen Jun 24, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tests whether special lights placed over doorways can help reduce nighttime falls in assisted living residents with Alzheimer's or related dementias. The lights are low-intensity and outline the bathroom or entry door, providing visual cues to improve balance. Researchers will follow 335 residents for one year, comparing fall rates when the lights are on versus when standard night lights are used.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- novel lighting system (horizontal and vertical lights over doorways)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this simple lighting system could help prevent dangerous falls at night for people with dementia living in assisted living facilities.
- What could go wrong
- This is a pragmatic trial testing a non-drug intervention, so the effect may be modest. Results depend on how well residents and staff adapt to the lights, and falls can have many causes beyond lighting.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 335 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jul 2023
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Has a diagnosis of dementia * Lives in a participating AL community * Not blind * Not on hospice and in a worsening state * Not expected to die or transfer during the next 6 months * Reside in a private room; or reside in a shared room if 1. one resident is male and one is female and both are participating in the project, or 2. they are of any gender, as long as there is a wall divider between their bedrooms * Do not have an overnight sitter in the room every night Exclusion Criteria: • None
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
The full official record for this study. This one lists no contact details, but it is the first place any would appear.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599, United States
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