Occupational Therapy Commons^™

Preventing And Reducing Falls In Assisted Living Facilities: An Educational Intervention, Raquel F. Ramos, Jennifer A. Borcich, Taylor S. Wong

Student Research Posters

As the number of older adults continues to rise, falling in older adults has become a national health care issue. Many older adults who fall reside in assisted living facilities. Every time a fall incident occurs, first responders are called, utilizing a significant amount of first responder’s time and resources. Therefore, the purpose of this project was to implement a fall prevention program for residents of an assisted living facility (ALF) to reduce fall risk and fall-related calls to the local fire department. The project consisted of a four-week course given once weekly for 60 minutes to residents at an …

Facilitating Effective Communication Between First Responders And Older Adults During Fall Incidents, Krystin M. Beeman, Erica L. Berger, Isabel A. Cabezas, Nicole M. Mathews

Student Research Posters

PURPOSE. The purpose of this project was to provide first responders with communication strategies for older adults that may help when responding to fall- related calls. General information was also provided to First Responders on working with older adults with a focus on the aging process, fall risk factors, and communications strategies.

METHODS. A series of educational sessions to first responders at a local fire district were developed and presented by occupational therapy students. Materials were developed by presenters from evidence-based resources and tailored to the target population. Each presentation focused on statistics about older adults, the aging process, fall …