Citation

Schrodt LA, Garbe KC, Chaplin R, Busby-Whitehead J, Shubert TE. Prev. Chronic Dis. 2013; 10: E141.

Affiliation

246 Health and Human Sciences, 4121 Little Savannah Rd, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC 28723. E-mail: lschrodt@email.wcu.edu.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, (in public domain), Publisher U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

DOI

10.5888/pcd10.120213

PMID

23968584

Abstract

Older adults should be screened for fall risk annually. Community providers (people without formal medical training who work with older adults in senior centers or aging services) may be a viable group to expand the reach of screenings. Our community-academic partnership developed a program to increase and assess fall risk screenings by community providers. Community sites hosted training workshops and screening events. Community screenings were well attended and received by providers and older adults. With administrative support from the regional fall prevention coalition and technical support from academia, community providers screened 161 older adults from a broad geographic area. Twenty-one community providers completed the training. Knowledge and confidence surveys demonstrated improvements before and after training (P < .001). Skills assessments demonstrated mastery of most skills, but some providers required additional training. Provider feedback indicated screening procedures were complex. Future projects will examine this model using simplified screening procedures.

Language: en