Fall Management: Team Solutions for Assessment and Prevention-Evaluation of Risk

 Introduction

Statistics show that one in three adults, age 65 or older, fall every year.  Falls are definitely considered to be of national concern, so much that Congress enacted the Elder Fall Prevention Act in 2003 and that was to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to expand and intensify programs with respect to research and related activities concerning elder falls.  Congress found that there should be a national approach to decreasing elder falls and as many of you probably know, much of this has been spear-headed by the Centers for the Disease Control, or the CDC.  Today’s seminar is actually going to review the body systems involved in fall prevention and balance, risk factors for falls, and some standardized assessments that we can use to identify patients at risk for falling.  We will address fall management definitely from an OT perspective, but also look at how the whole interdisciplinary team impacts fall behavior and some factors that affect falls that you might not normally address in your evaluation.