Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Mitigating Suicide Risk Post-Discharge From Inpatient Crisis Stabilization: Safety Planning Intervention, Leighia M. Mcghee

Dissertations

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this program evaluation is to evaluate the effectiveness of a newly implemented safety planning intervention (SPI) tool, comparing patient outcomes relating to suicide attempt rates, emergency department (ED) encounter rates, and inpatient rehospitalizations rates pre and post its integration to care in a suburban behavioral health hospital.

Methods: A descriptive cohort design utilizing a retrospective chart review was completed over six months, three months pre, and three months post implementation of the SPI program. A convenience sample of inpatient charts was reviewed to assess the rate of suicide attempts, ED encounters frequencies, and hospitalization rates …

A Case For Delirium Risk Prediction Models To Aid In Triaging Resources To Those Most At Risk An Integrative Literature Review, Tammy Perttula

Nursing Masters Papers

Abstract

Delirium is a complex syndrome resulting from compounding effects of acute illness, comorbidities, and the environment. It results in adverse outcomes: elevated mortality rates, length of stay, readmissions, institutionalization, long-term cognitive changes, and diminished quality of life. The rate of iatrogenic delirium is astounding, ranging from 10%-89%. There are no curative treatments; thus, primary prevention is the key. The purpose of this literature review is to identify and critique the research for the accuracy of risk stratification and feasibility in practice. Support for interventions that prevent delirium is mounting; however, interventions are resource-intensive and often not implemented. Researchers have …

Scope Of Attention Variation As A Function Of Anxiety And Depression, Kathleen O'Donnell

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

As a social species, correct emotional perception is so vital, that the human brain has evolved a mechanism to control attentional choices by exerting a narrowed field of perception during danger, called the scope of attention (SoA). The SoA determines what information will be focused on or ignored by blocking the perception of non-relevant items and increasing selective focus on danger; even if danger is merely a sad-face. The emotional items blocked from perception cannot be remembered because they were never perceived. But, attention-control to emotional stimuli also varies with mood, as seen in mood-disorders. A mood-disorder’s effect upon the …

Improving Access To Mental Health Care With Nurse Practitioners, Jessica Whelan

Dissertations

Problem: Over 40% of those with mental illness are untreated since the supply of psychiatrists does not meet the demand. The psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP) may be an adjunct in providing those services. The purpose of this quality assurance study was to evaluate outcomes of care between a PMHNP and a psychiatrist (medical doctor [MD]).

Methods: An observational, descriptive design with a retrospective medical record review of adult patients over a six-month period in a suburban, Midwestern, privately owned psychiatric practice.

Results: A total of 787 individual patients encountered at least one visit (N=787) although 3,679 …

The Development Of Face Morphing Task To Assess Self Other Differentiation, Esen Karan

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Self-Other Differentiation (SOD) refers to a developmental process of acquiring a consolidated, integrated, and individuated sense of self. SOD develops at a) perceptual (e.g., facial perception) and b) representational (e.g., traits, mental states, and beliefs) levels. Impairments in representational SOD (R-SOD) are associated with many forms of psychopathology, particularly borderline personality disorder (BPD) and narcissistic personality disorder (NPD). Few studies to date have examined the perceptual aspects of SOD (P-SOD), which are hypothesized to develop from infancy onwards in tandem and in interaction with R-SOD. Given that the human face is one of the key characteristics that humans use to …

Impact Of Adverse Childhood Experiences On Mental Health Outcomes And Related Prescription Practices In A Psychiatric Inpatient Sample, Carrie Lemay

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A definitive association between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and negative physical and mental health outcomes has been established. There is evidence that individuals in forensic psychiatric facilities are disproportionately exposed to ACEs, which may impact severity, prognosis, and age of onset of psychiatric symptoms, including behavioral concerns of institutional aggression, self-harm behaviors, and suicide attempts. Such psychiatric and behavioral concerns are often managed through multiple psychotropic prescriptions, leading to psychotropic polypharmacy. This study evaluated the relationship between ACEs, mental health and behavioral concerns, and psychotropic polypharmacy through analysis of archival data from a forensic inpatient psychiatric facility. A total of …

The Effects Of Compassion Fatigue On Burnout Among Inpatient Psychiatric And Intensive Care Unit Nurses, Amita Madan Neidlinger

DNP Projects

PURPOSE: This DNP project is relevant to nurses of the psychiatric and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) setting, as high stress environments may produce higher rates of compassion fatigue and burnout. Investigation of these areas may help illuminate unnecessary healthcare costs that are associated with these phenomena. This DNP project is important to the University of Kentucky’s healthcare system, its patients, and nurses. Increased absenteeism and increased medication errors are positively associated with the prevalence of compassion fatigue and burnout in nurses. Outcomes from this project will allow identification of unnecessary healthcare costs and encourage administrators to focus on reducing nurse …

ความหมายของชีวิตในบุคลากรทางการแพทย์ผู้ดูแลผู้ป่วยระยะสุดท้าย, สุนทร ลิ่มหลัก

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

ที่มาและเหตุผล: การมีความหมายของชีวิตเป็นส่วนสำคัญในชีวิตมนุษย์ทุกคนและทุกช่วงวัย การค้นพบความหมายของชีวิตและส่งผลในเชิงบวกต่อสุขภาพกาย สุขภาพจิต และสุขภาวะทางจิตวิญญาณ ที่ผ่านมายังไม่มีการศึกษาความหมายของชีวิตในบุคลากรทางการแพทย์ผู้ดูแลผู้ป่วยระยะสุดท้ายซึ่งเป็นทีมสุขภาพที่ทำงานใกล้ชิดกับความเป็นความตาย การรับรู้ช่วงสุดท้ายของชีวิตผู้ป่วยอาจเป็นประโยชน์ต่อการรับรู้ความหมายของชีวิต และนำไปสู่วิถีการดำเนินชีวิตที่ดีและความอยู่ดีมีสุข วัตถุประสงค์: เพื่อศึกษาความหมายของชีวิตในบุคลากรการแพทย์ผู้ดูแลผู้ป่วยระยะสุดท้ายและปัจจัยที่มีผลต่อความหมาย และศึกษาความสัมพันธ์ระหว่างความหมายของชีวิตกับทัศนคติในการดำเนินชีวิตและการดูแลผู้ป่วย วิธีการศึกษา: การวิจัยเชิงคุณภาพในบุคลากรทางการแพทย์ผู้ดูแลผู้ป่วยระยะสุดท้ายจำนวน 12 คนโดยเก็บข้อมูลด้วยการสัมภาษณ์เชิงลึกส่วนบุคคลและแบบกึ่งโครงสร้าง จากนั้นทำการวิเคราะห์เปรียบเทียบข้อมูลและหาความสัมพันธ์ของข้อมูล และทำการสังเคราะห์ข้อมูลจนเหลือแต่คุณลักษณะที่มีความหมายร่วมกันมาประกอบกับทฤษฎี ผลการศึกษา: แนวคิด “ความหมายของชีวิต” ในบุคลากรทางการแพทย์ผู้ดูแลผู้ป่วยระยะสุดท้ายค้นพบทั้งสิ้น 5 แก่น ได้แก่ 1) การก้าวข้ามตัวตน; 2) ความรักและความผูกพัน; 3) การทำหน้าที่และทำสิ่งที่เป็นประโยชน์ให้กับโลก; 4) การชื่นชมและปีติกับความงามของชีวิต และ 5) การมีจุดมุ่งหมายในชีวิต โดยปัจจัยที่ทำให้เกิดความหมายคือประสบการณ์การดูแลผู้ป่วยระยะสุดท้ายและปัจจัยอื่นๆ เฉพาะบุคคล โดยพบว่าการมีความเข้าใจความหมายของชีวิตย่อมส่งเสริมสุขภาพจิตและพฤติกรรมในเชิงบวก ผู้ที่มีความหมายของชีวิตชัดเจนย่อมมีเป้าหมายในชีวิต รู้ความต้องการปลายทางของชีวิต ความหมายของชีวิตมีผลอย่างมากต่อมุมมองชีวิต โลกทัศน์ และวิถีชีวิต สรุปผลการศึกษา: การทำหน้าที่ดูแลผู้ป่วยในช่วงสุดท้ายของชีวิตและการมีโอกาสได้เห็นผู้ที่กำลังจะเสียชีวิต ส่งผลให้เกิดการตระหนักรู้ความหมายของชีวิต ซึ่งมีผลต่อวิถีการดำเนินชีวิต การดูแลสุขภาพกายและใจ รวมถึงมีการดูแลคนรอบข้างและผู้ป่วยที่ดีขึ้น แนวคิดความหมายของชีวิตนี้ สามารถนำไปประยุกต์ใช้ได้ในเวชปฏิบัติด้านการดูแลแบบประคับประคองในการค้นหาความหมายของชีวิตผู้ป่วย หรือด้านจิตเวชในการบำบัดรักษาทางสุขภาพจิตสำหรับผู้ที่ขาดความหมายของชีวิต เป็นกระบวนทัศน์ใหม่ในการดูแลผู้ป่วยอย่างรู้คุณค่าและมีความหมาย และสามารถนำไปใช้ส่งเสริมการมีความหมายของชีวิตในบุคลากรทางการแพทย์และสาธารณสุขกลุ่มอื่น รวมทั้งยังส่งเสริมคนในสังคมตระหนักรู้ถึงความสำคัญของความหมายแห่งการมีชีวิตอยู่ การมีเครื่องมือไว้จัดการความทุกข์ และช่วยทำให้ชีวิตมีความสุขได้ง่าย ปล่อยวางความเป็นตัวตนได้มากขึ้น และช่วยให้ชีวิตอยู่ในสมดุลและผาสุก

White Matter Inflammation And Executive Dysfunction: Implications For Alzheimer Disease And Vascular Cognitive Impairment, Alexander Levit

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

White matter integrity is crucial to healthy executive function, the cognitive domain that enables functional independence. However, in the ageing brain, white matter is highly vulnerable. White matter inflammation increases with age and Alzheimer disease (AD), which disrupts the normal function of white matter. This may contribute to executive dysfunction, but the relationship between white matter inflammation and executive function has not been directly evaluated in ageing nor AD. White matter is also particularly vulnerable to cerebrovascular disease, corresponding with the common presentation of executive dysfunction in vascular cognitive impairment (VCI). Thus, white matter may be an important substrate by …

Designing Interactive Virtual Environments With Feedback In Health Applications., Yi Li

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

One of the most important factors to influence user experience in human-computer interaction is the user emotional reaction. Interactive environments including serious games that are responsive to user emotions improve their effectiveness and user satisfactions. Testing and training for user emotional competence is meaningful in healthcare field, which has motivated us to analyze immersive affective games using emotional feedbacks. In this dissertation, a systematic model of designing interactive environment is presented, which consists of three essential modules: affect modeling, affect recognition, and affect control. In order to collect data for analysis and construct these modules, a series of experiments were …

Shared Genetic And Environmental Influences On Fear, Anxiety, Posttraumatic Stress, And Brain Morphometry, Chelsea Sawyers

Theses and Dissertations

Anxiety disorders (ADs) and stress-related disorders are some of the most common psychiatric disorders in the United States. Like other c0mplex psychiatric illness, genetics and neuroimaging research has focused on understanding their underlying neurobiology. Areas within the fear-network play important roles in threat perception, fear conditioning/learning, cognitive processing, and modulation of fear responses including contextual modulation and extinction and have been implicated in ADs as well as stress disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The primary gap in the current search for underlying biological mechanisms is in whether biomarkers associated with disorders share genetic influences with the disorders they …

Stasi Brainwashing In The Gdr 1957 - 1990, Jacob H. Solbrig, Jacob Hagen Solbrig

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the methods used by the Ministerium für Staatssicherheit (MfS), more commonly known as the Stasi, or East German secret police, for extraction of information from citizens of the German Democratic Republic for the purpose of espionage and covert operations inside East Germany, as it pertains to the deliberate brainwashing of East German citizens. As one of the most efficient intelligence agencies to ever exist, the Stasi’s main purpose was to monitor the population, gather intelligence, and collect or turn informants. They used brainwashing techniques to control the people of the GDR, keeping the populace paralyzed with fear …

Is Mdma-Assisted Psychotherapy An Effective Treatment For Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (Ptsd)?, Joey Rudd

PCOM Physician Assistant Studies Student Scholarship

Objective: The objective of this selective EBM review is to determine whether or not MDMA-assisted psychotherapy is an effective treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Study Design: Systematic review of three published, randomized controlled trials (double-blind, placebo-controlled) between 2008-2013.

Data Sources: All articles used were published in English, in peer-reviewed journals, and found using PubMed/MEDLINE and Cochrane Review databases.

Outcomes Measured: The primary outcome measure in all three studies was the severity of PTSD symptoms. The primary outcome measure was assessed using the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) and the Severity of Symptoms Scale for PTSD (SSSPTSD). …

Is Oral Vitamin D Supplementation Safe And Effective For Adults As Therapy To Improve Symptoms Associated With Seasonal Affective Disorder (Sad) During Wintertime?, James Berking

PCOM Physician Assistant Studies Student Scholarship

Objective: The objective of this selective EBM review is to determine whether or not oral vitamin D supplementation is safe and effective for adults as therapy to improve symptoms associated with seasonal affective disorder (SAD) during wintertime.

Study Design: This review is based on three randomized controlled trials (RCTs) which were published in 2006, 2012, 2014. Two of the studies were double blind and placebo controlled. The studies evaluated the efficacy of oral vitamin D supplementation for improvement of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) symptoms. One of the studies also evaluated safety.

Data Sources: All articles used were …

Is L-Theanine An Effective Treatment For Reducing Anxiety In Patients Ages 18-25?, Nicole Bubes

PCOM Physician Assistant Studies Student Scholarship

Objective: The objective of this selective EBM review is to determine whether or not L-theanine, an amino acid analogue found in green tea leaves, is an effective treatment for reducing anxiety in patients ages 18-25.

Study design: Review of two double-blind, randomized controlled studies and one single-blind, randomized controlled study published in 2007, 2012 and 2013 respectively.

Data sources: PubMed

Outcome(s) measured: Each study measured L-theanine’s ability to reduce acute anxiety with a series of self-report measures assessing acute anxiety and stress, including the Profile of Mood States (POMS), the visual analogue scales (VAS), State-Trait Anxiety …

Is Botox A Safe And Effective Treatment To Reduce Symptoms Of Depression?, Bradin T. Carter

PCOM Physician Assistant Studies Student Scholarship

Objective: The objective of this selective EBM review is to determine whether or not Botox is a safe and effective treatment to reduce symptoms of depression?

Study Design: The review is based on three Randomized Control Trials that were double-blind and placebo controlled clinical trials.

Data Source: All articles were researched and found using PubMed and Medline. The articles were selected based on the relevance to my clinical question and if the articles included patient oriented outcomes (POEMS).

Outcomes Measured: The outcomes were measured by the improvement of depressive symptoms (sleep disturbances, suicide ideations, change in …

Is Mindfulness-Based Therapy Effective In Increasing Total Sleep Time In Adults?, Johanna F. Detwiler

PCOM Physician Assistant Studies Student Scholarship

Objective: The objective of this selective evidence based medicine review is to determine whether or not mindfulness-based therapy is effective in increasing total sleep time in adults.

Study design: Review of three randomized controlled trials published in 2011, 2014 and 2015, all English language.

Data source-The three randomized controlled trials that were used in this review were found using PubMed.

Outcomes measured: Total sleep time, sleep onset latency, wake after sleep onset, number of awakenings, time in bed, subjective sleep quality, sleep duration, habitual sleep efficiency, sleep disturbances, use of sleep medications, and daytime dysfunction were …

Is Lisdexamfetamine Dimesylate Safe And Effective In Reducing Adhd Symptoms?, Jordan A. Drelich

PCOM Physician Assistant Studies Student Scholarship

Objective: The purpose of this careful EBM review is to determine whether lisdexamfetamine dimesylate (LDX) is safe and effective in reducing attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms.

Study Design: A systematic review of two randomized controlled studies and one double-blind, 2-arm, parallel-group placebo-controlled RWP published between 2011-2014, all in the English language.

Data Sources: Two randomized controlled trials and one double-blind, 2-arm, parallel-group placebo-controlled RWP published between 2011 and 2014 which were found using PubMed and Cochrane databases.

Outcomes Measured: ADHD global symptomatic improvement was measured using Clinical Global Impressions – Severity of Illness (CGI-S), Clinical Global Impression-Improvement …

Is Aristada (Aripiprazole Lauroxil) A Safe And Effective Treatment For Schizophrenia In Adult Patients?, Kyle J. Knowles

PCOM Physician Assistant Studies Student Scholarship

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this selective EBM review is to determine whether or not “Is Aristada (aripiprazole lauroxil) a safe and effective treatment for schizophrenia in adult patients?”

STUDY DESIGN: Review of three randomized controlled studies. All three trials were conducted between 2014 and 2015.

DATA SOURCES: One randomized, controlled trial and two randomized, controlled, doubleblind trials found via Cochrane Library and PubMed.

OUTCOMES MEASURED: The outcomes that were measured include adverse events (pain at injection site, insomnia, headache, toothache, abdominal discomfort, constipation, diarrhea, akathisia, back pain, dyskinesia, dystonia, nasopharyngitis) measured by vital signs, physical examination, …

Can Coloring Pre-Structured Designs That Have Complexity Aid In Reducing Anxiety In Those Greater Than 17 Years Of Age?, Kaitlyn P. Probasco

PCOM Physician Assistant Studies Student Scholarship

Objective: The objective of this selective evidence based medicine (EBM) review is to determine whether or not coloring mandalas or designs that have complexity and structure can aid in reducing anxiety in those greater than 17 years of age.

Study Design: Review of three English language randomized controlled trials (RCTs), published in 2007, 2012, and 2015.

Data Sources: Three randomized controlled trials published in peer-reviewed journals obtained using PubMed and EBSCOhost.

Outcomes Measured: The Curry and Kasser study and the van dV and Serice7study both used the State Anxiety Inventory (SAI) to record anxiety. The Henderson …

Does Increasing Speech Production And Language Acquisition Through Therapies Aimed At Emphasizing Speech Therapy Improve The Verbal Communication Capabilities In Autistic Children?, Jessica Olejnik

PCOM Physician Assistant Studies Student Scholarship

Objective: The objective of this EBM review was to determine if increasing speech production & language acquisition through therapies which emphasized speech therapy, would improve verbal communication skills in autistic individuals.

Study Design: Three RCTs selected due to relevance to the proposed question and fulfillment of the requirement of measuring POEMs.

Data Sources: All articles were published in peer-reviewed journals via PubMed.

Outcome Measures: The Preschool Language Scale 4 and Comprehensive Assessment of Spoken Language was measured pre-intervention and 12 months later. The verbal production evaluation scale which measured phonology, pragmatics, prosody, and sematic features. The …

Is Cariprazine Effective And Safe In Treating Acute Mania In Bipolar I Disorder?, Evan A. Reaume

PCOM Physician Assistant Studies Student Scholarship

Objective: The objective of this selective EBM review is to determine whether or not “Is cariprazine effective and safe in treating acute mania in bipolar I disorder?”

Study Design: This review is based on three double-blind, randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published in English, in 2015. These studies compared both the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of cariprazine in the treatment of acute mania in bipolar I disorder.

Data sources: Three double-blind, placebo-controlled, RCTs published in English, in peer-reviewed journals, and found using Medline, Pubmed, and Cochrane Review databases.

Outcomes Measured: The primary efficacy scale used in all …

Is Ginkgo Biloba Effective In Managing The Symptoms Of Adhd And Does It Exhibit Lower Adverse Side Effects As Compared To The Current Standard Of Treatment?, Joshua Meir Alge

PCOM Physician Assistant Studies Student Scholarship

Objective: The objective of this selective evidence based medicine review is to determine whether or not ginkgo biloba is effective in managing the symptoms of ADHD and if it exhibits lower adverse side effects as compared to the current standard of treatment.

Study Design: Systematic review of three English language studies, two of which were randomized, double blind, controlled trials (one positive controlled, one placebo controlled), and one open prospective cohort study, published between 2009-2015.

Data Source: Two randomized, double blind, controlled trials (one positive controlled, one placebo controlled), and one open prospective cohort study. In one …

The [E]Motionless Body No Longer: Tracing The Historical Intersections Of Mental Illness And Movement In The American Asylum, Holly Adele Herzfeld

Senior Projects Spring 2017

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Multidisciplinary Studies of Bard College.

Investigation On Genetic Modifiers Of Age At Onset Of Major Depressive Disorder, Huseyin Gedik

Theses and Dissertations

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a complex multifactorial disorder, which would lead to disability. Environmental and genetic factors are involved in MDD etiology. The aim of this project was to identify loci modifying age at onset (AAO) of MDD using survival models after adjusting for Childhood Sexual Abuse (CSA). To achieve this aim, a dataset was made available by the China Oxford and VCU Experimental Research on Genetic Epidemiology (CONVERGE) consortium. The study population had 5,220 controls and 5,282 cases with MDD. We performed two univariate association analyses using Cox Proportional Hazard (Cox PH) models. These two are Full Sample …

Epigenetic Editing To Validate Findings From Methylome-Wide Association Studies Of Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Robin F. Chan

Theses and Dissertations

DNA methylation is necessary for learning, memory consolidation and has been implicated in a number of neuropsychiatric disorders. Obtaining high quality and comprehensive data for the three common forms of methylation in brain is challenging for methylome-wide association studies (MWAS). To address this we optimized a panel of enrichment methods for screening the brain methylome. Results show that these enrichment techniques approach the coverage and fidelity of the current gold standard bisulfite based techniques. Our MBD-based method can also be used with low amounts of genomic material from limited human biomaterials. Psychiatric disorders have high prevalence and are often chronic …

Symptoms, Contributing Factors, And Screening For Perinatal Mood And Anxiety Disorders In U.S. Latinas: A Literature Review, Jennifer N. S. Massie

Master's Projects and Capstones

This literature review was conducted to gather the published information on the topic of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders in the Latina population in the United States. Academic databases were searched for articles published between 2005 and 2016. 60 articles were considered, and a final sample of 36 articles and websites was included in this review.

Evidence suggests that Latina women in the perinatal period (pregnant and up to one year postpartum) in the United States of America tend to have a higher risk and incidence of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders than White women, and a higher risk and …

The Privilege Paradox: The Effect Of Affluence On The Adolescent Experience, Darcy Berger

Honors Theses

The purpose of this research is to identify and discuss the pressures of adolescents who come from affluent families in American society. This is an important group to study, because recent studies suggest there are misconceptions regarding how “privileged,” or isolated from psychosocial maladjustment, these adolescents may actually be. 21 qualitative, in-depth interviews with college students were conducted at a private institution in order to analyze possible areas of distress and mental health concerns. Findings suggest that upper class youth have a unique set of stressors that can potentially lead to mental health problems. High achievement pressures, excessive parental criticism, …

Improving Suicide Risk Management In Military Primary Care, John A. Hoyos

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Manuscripts

Background: In the military, completed suicides and attempt rates have risen across the services since 2001 by 82% per 100,000 in spite of various intervention programs. The literature suggests that absent and inadequate suicide assessments may be part of the problem. Primary care providers are often not prepared for risk assessment and management of suicidal patients.

Aim/Purpose of Project: The project sought to improve the consistency of providers in conducting adequate risk assessments and providing crisis hotline information to patients who were cleared to return home after an encounter, as required by NPSG 15.01.01.

Project Plan Process: This evidenced-based project …

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

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

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 …