Fall Risk Screenings for Older Adults in Community Settings

About the Program

Category: Human Services (Best in Category)

Year: 2014

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates one-third of adults over age 65 fall each year. They produced the “STEADI” toolkit for providers to use in clinical settings for screening, assessment, and treatment of fall risk. Many providers have indicated that they are too busy to do screenings so the County’s Health and Human Services Agency Aging & Independence Services (sponsor for the San Diego Fall Prevention Task Force) adapted elements of STEADI to use in community settings. We used the questionnaire, three STEADI physical tests and an additional balance test to create a composite results sheet. We screened 313 older adults and found 80 percent of them to be at risk. We gave each participant a packet with their results and a letter to bring to their health care provider, including local fall prevention resources. We surveyed the participants three months later and found that 39 percent had already discussed the results with their providers. Considering how few seniors normally have fall prevention discussions with their providers, we are proud to have found a way to prompt older adults to have those discussions. Our community screening model was inexpensive and can be easily replicated in other communities.