Healthy Aging: Fall Prevention Project

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has funded NSC’s Healthy Aging: Prevention of Falls project from August 2001 to 2006. Under the project, the Council’s Safety and Health Policy Center has conducted focus groups and interviews with older adults and implemented education and outreach activities through partnerships with Council chapters.

Focus groups and in-depth telephone interviews

As part of the National Safety Council's Healthy Aging project, NSC conducted focus groups in diverse geographic locations nationally to gather input regarding the effectiveness of two CDC brochures about prevention of falls (available online at http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/pub-res/toolkit/toolkit.htm). Discussions addressed sources of health and safety information, perceptions about the information and sources, and future needs and recommendations. Two types of participants were involved in the focus groups:

senior adults, and
medical professionals that work with older adults. NSC worked with its chapter network and other community partner organizations to host some of the focus groups. NSC also conducted telephone interviews as part of the project.

Education and Outreach

Focus group hosts were also asked to conduct two education and outreach activities that included health fairs, presentations at senior centers, or other appropriate activities. NSC also provided mini-grants of $2,500 each to 15 Council chapters across the nation to conduct fall prevention activities in their communities.

The following provides a brief summary of some of the activities conducted under the mini-grants:

Ark-La La-Tex Chapter . Conducted presentations at 25 Council on Aging Nutrition Sites throughout Louisiana.
Chicago Chapter. Presented discussions and disseminated information at senior centers.
Kentucky Office, National Safety Council . Developed and disseminated falls prevention information at health fairs, retail facilities, and a nursing home.
Northern New England . Developed and placed falls prevention PSAs in the statewide newspaper; produced falls prevention posters; participated in four senior wellness fairs.
Northern Ohio Chapter . Produced and distributed more than 13,000 falls brochures, partnering with Area on Aging Agencies.
Oklahoma Safety Council . Developed education materials and conducted presentations to more than 200 seniors at community centers supported by the Oklahoma Area-Wide Aging Services Agency.
Safety Council Central/Upstate New York. Presentation to senior groups; developed and disseminated educational materials; radio interviews; radio PSAs.
South Carolina . Developed and disseminated falls prevention information kits to more than 250 long term care facilities. Presentation at a school of gerontology.
South Louisiana Chapter . Conducted presentations at 11 Senior Centers operated by the Jefferson Parish Council on Aging; distributed materials and falls prevention supplies.
Texas Chapter . Partnered with Senior Adult Services, a non-profit organization supporting seniors, to make falls prevention information available to some 5,000 older adults.
Wisconsin Council of Safety . Produced and distributed Elderly Falls Prevention information to nursing facilities, Council members, Chambers of Commerce and others throughout Wisconsin; utilized volunteers to make presentations and educate employees; developed falls prevention web site. (http://www.wischamberfoundation.org/WCS/display.cfm?ID=443)
Wyoming-Montana Safety Council . Developed and distributed a falls prevention presentation kit; direct mailings of educational materials; press releases; developed radio PSAs that were aired on several local radio stations. (http://www.safety-council.com/ click on “Alive at 90”)
Minnesota Safety Council . Expanded web based resources on fall prevention; developed power point presentation and script on falls prevention and disseminated to more than 100 local organizations that work with seniors and made it available on its web site. (http://www.mnsafetycouncil.org/facts/f-categ.cfm?CID=1)
Safety Council for Southeast Michigan . Distributed brochures; appeared on radio program; arranged for series of articles in a senior center newspaper.
Greater Omaha Chapter. Collaborated with the AgeWell Center for Active Aging at Immanuel Health Systems to provide a program of Life Balance, a gait and balance training combined with exercises. Twenty-three individuals (average age of 83) participated in this program two hours weekly over 8 weeks.

2005

Minnesota Safety Council. The Minnesota Safety Council added five new fact sheets (benefits of physical activity, specific exercises for strength and balance, exercise safety tips, and advice for family members on transitions and behavior change) and a PowerPoint presentation to its web site (www.mnsafetycouncil.org). They disseminated printed copies of the information to more than 170 organizations that work with seniors. They promoted awareness of the information including developing a media kit designed to help increase awareness of the materials.
Greater Omaha Chapter . The Greater Omaha Chapter trained 19 professionals who work with seniors (therapists, nurses, volunteer directors, etc.) to serve as facilitators of the “Matter of Balance” program. The program is designed to reduce the fear of falling and increase activity among older adults and the training was conducted by Elizabeth Walker Peterson, MPH, OTR/L, with the University of Illinois, College of Applied Health Sciences. Each individual trained agreed to conduct at least three “A Matter of Balance” trainings of 20 older adults by December and to partner with the Omaha Chapter in its fall prevention programs.
Safety and Health Council of Northern New England . The Safety and Health Council of Northern New England’s (SHCNNE) fall prevention activities were conducted as part of a larger project, “Evidence Based Falls Risk Reduction in the Elderly: Taking it Back to Your Community and Making it Work.” This project is a senior fall prevention and intervention project developed in collaboration with the New Hampshire Falls Risk Reduction Task Force (Task Force) over nearly six years. Twenty falls risk reduction teams from across New Hampshire were trained in best practice falls risk reduction assessment and interventions. Teams, made up of at least five professionals each, come from hospitals, long -term care facilities, and community -based organizations and businesses and are working on activities through at least 2006.

This National Safety Council mini-grant helped enable:

production and distribution of 100 sets of falls intervention signage to hospitals across the state.
production of ten banners stating “Are you at risk of falling?” which were utilized at six senior falls screenings events. The seniors also received educational materials.
purchase and distribution of movement nights and non-skid flooring strips at the six senior falls screening events.

Wisconsin Council of Safety. The Wisconsin Council of Safety produced fall prevention educational materials. They worked with community partners, including local chambers of commerce, local safety councils, and business associations to disseminate information on fall prevention. They reached thousands of Wisconsin residents and organizations through mailings and emails. The chapter also conducted dozens of presentations at senior centers and other facilities around the state and added fall prevention information to its web site (www.wischamberfoundation.org).

Please note that these are very brief summaries and do not fully describe the extent of activities conducted by each of the chapters.

Other Activities

Based upon the focus group and interview findings, NSC will develop new educational materials including brochures, a poster, and desk-top materials for doctors' offices and facilities that serve seniors and their families, such as hospitals, nursing homes, senior centers. NSC is also continuing to work with Council chapters on local fall prevention activities.