Title: Healthcare Providers’ Perceptions and Self-Reported Fall Prevention Practices: Findings from a Large New York Health System

Abstract

Among older adults, falls are the leading cause of injury-related deaths and emergency department visits, and the incidence of falls in the United States is rising as the number of older Americans increases. Research has shown that falls can be reduced by modifying fall-risk factors using multifactorial interventions implemented in clinical settings. However, the literature indicates that many providers feel that they do not know how to conduct fall-risk assessments or do not have adequate knowledge about fall prevention. To help healthcare providers incorporate older adult fall prevention (i.e., falls risk assessment and treatment) into their clinical practice, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Injury Center has developed the Stopping Elderly Accidents, Deaths, and Injuries (STEADI) tool kit. This study was conducted to identify the practice characteristics and providers’ beliefs, knowledge, and fall-related activities before they received training on how to use the STEADI tool kit. Data were collected as part of a larger State Fall Prevention Project funded by CDC’s Injury Center. Completed questionnaires were returned by 38 medical providers from 11 healthcare practices within a large New York health system. Healthcare providers ranked falls as the lowest priority of five conditions, after diabetes, cardiovascular disease, mentalmore » health, and musculoskeletal conditions. Less than 40% of the providers asked most or all of their older patients if they had fallen during the past 12 months. Less than a quarter referred their older patients to physical therapists for balance or gait training, and <20% referred older patients to community-based fall prevention programs. Less than 16% reported they conducted standardized functional assessments with their older patients at least once a year. These results suggest that implementing the STEADI tool kit in clinical settings could address knowledge gaps and provide the necessary tools to help providers incorporate fall-risk assessment and treatment into clinical practice.« less

Authors:

Smith, Matthew Lee ^[1]; Stevens, Judy A. ^[2]; Ehrenreich, Heidi ^[2]; Wilson, Ashley D. ^[3]; Schuster, Richard J. ^[4]; Cherry, Colleen O’Brien ^[4]; Ory, Marcia G. ^[3]

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+ Show Author Affiliations

1. Univ. of Georgia, Athens, GA (United States). College of Public Health. Dept. of Health Promotion and Behavior
2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, GA (United States). National Center for Injury Prevention and Control
3. Texas A & M Univ., College Station, TX (United States). Health Science Center. School of Public Health. Dept. of Health Promotion and Community Health Sciences
4. Univ. of Georgia, Athens, GA (United States). College of Public Health. Center for Global Health

Publication Date:

Mon Apr 27 00:00:00 EDT 2015

Research Org.:

Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:

USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER). Biological Systems Science Division

OSTI Identifier:

1629922

Grant/Contract Number:  

SC0014664

Resource Type:

Accepted Manuscript

Journal Name:

Frontiers in Public Health

Additional Journal Information:

Journal Volume: 3; Journal ID: ISSN 2296-2565

Publisher:

Frontiers Research Foundation

Country of Publication:

United States

Language:

English

Subject:

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES; clinical practice; fall prevention; fall screening; intervention science