Adherence to Fall Prevention Strategies in Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Occupational Therapists are in a unique position to educate community-dwelling older adults about various extrinsic modifiable fall prevention strategies to assist with maintaining an independent lifestyle. Five out of five (100%) participants in this evidence-based project adhered to at least three fall prevention strategies after attending a course. All participants adhered removing throw rugs, decluttering their homes and installing night lights. There were at least two strategies, changing the bed height and installing railings, that no participants adhered to at the four week follow up call. Limitations include only conducting a community basedclass, having a small sample size and participants were all rural living adults over the age of 60. While the results from this evidence-based project support the adherence of fall prevention strategies, more research must be conducted with a larger sample size and varying communities including non rural communities and must examine participants of varying ages. In addition, further research needs to be conducted on how home visits impact adherence to fall prevention strategies.