This PowerPoint presentation was developed for the American Occupational Therapy
Association (AOTA) by Elizabeth Peterson, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA, Clinical Professor,
University of Illinois at Chicago; and Bonita Lynn Beattie, PT, MPT, MHA, Vice
President, Injury Prevention & Lead, Falls Free® Initiative, Center for Healthy Aging,
National Council on Aging. Occupational therapy practitioners are encouraged to use
this presentation in association with Falls Prevention Awareness Day and throughout
the year to educate the public and promote the role of Occupational Therapy in Falls
Prevention. This presentation should be used and shown for educational purposes only.
For all other uses, contact epeterso@uic.edu.
.
Please note: Two handouts accompany this presentation as follows:
1) Tips for Living Life To Its Fullest: Fall Prevention for Older Adults
2) Fall Prevention Resources.
STAYING ACTIVE AND FALLS FREE WITH OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY
15-minute script (to be delivered by an OTA or OT)
SLIDE 1-Title Slide
Welcome and thank you for coming to this talk on how you can reduce your fall risk with
the help of occupational therapy.
SLIDE 2-Welcome
My name is ______________; I am an occupational therapist (or occupational therapy
assistant) and my work at _____________ (insert name of place of work) has helped
me appreciate the importance of taking steps to prevent falls.
By a raise of hands, tell me…
Who here has fallen in the past year or knows of someone who has?
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As you may be able to tell from the show of hands, falls are a major health concern.
Although falls are the leading cause of injury and accidental death in adults over the age
of 65, they can be prevented. By taking control of your health and utilizing the resources
available to you, you can reduce your risk of falls and continue to participate in the
activities that you enjoy.
You are not alone in your efforts to manage your fall risk. Occupational therapy
practitioners (that is, occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants), other
health care providers, and many people in your community are dedicated to supporting
your health and well-being.
But you are the leader of your fall prevention team.
SLIDE 3-Presentation Goals
By the end of this presentation, which will take about 15 minutes, you will gain
knowledge that will help you lead your health care team to reduce your risk of falls.
Specifically, by the end of this presentation, you will be able to:
•
•
•
Recognize that most falls result from interacting risk factors.
Describe how occupational therapy practitioners can help you reduce your risk of
falls.
Identify strategies and resources that you can use to reduce your risk for falls.
I also have two (speaker, edit # as needed) handouts for you that you will receive at the
end of the presentation. One lists several helpful fall prevention resources. The others
provide fall prevention tips.
SLIDE 4-Why do Falls Happen?
In most cases, falls experienced by older adults are caused by several risk factors that
occur at once.
SLIDE 5-Types of Fall Risk Factors
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Fall risk factors are commonly placed into three categories: Physical, behavioral, and
environmental, but keep in mind that risk factors frequently interact to cause a fall.
Physical risk factors relate to changes in your body that increase your risk for a fall.
Impaired balance is an example of a physical risk factor.
Behavioral risk factors are the things we do OR don’t do that increase our fall risk. For
example, not asking for help when doing something that might cause a fall is a
behavioral risk factor.
Environmental risk factors are typically hazards in our home or community such as
loose throw rugs or unclear pathways, or even pets in our way!
SLIDE 6 (Transition slide)-What is Occupational Therapy?
Now that you have a better understanding of why most falls happen, let’s talk about the
role of occupational therapy to help with fall prevention efforts. But before we do, let’s
begin with the question, “What is occupational therapy?”
Raise your hand if you have worked with an occupational therapy practitioner before, or
know someone who has.
SLIDE 7-About Occupational Therapy
Occupational therapy helps people of every age do the things they want and need to do
through the therapeutic use of everyday activities—or, as we refer to them—
occupations. In other words, we focus on your daily activities to be sure you remain as
independent as possible and function as well as you can, despite injury, illness, or
disability.
SLIDE 8-About Occupations
The term “occupation” refers to a person’s meaningful activities. Your life is made up of
many occupations.
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My occupations include XXX. (Here offer approximately 3 examples of occupations that
are important to you, e.g., activities related to taking care of your family, house, pets;
contributing to your community and fulfilling your job responsibilities.)
Your occupations, the day-to-day things you love to do, are linked to important roles in
your life, such as being a grandparent, friend, volunteer, employee, spouse, or
caregiver.
Most of us are happiest when we engage in activities that reflect our values and
identities.
Fear of falling or an injury caused from a fall can keep us from doing the things we like
to do. That is where occupational therapy comes in to help us safely do what is
meaningful to us.
SLIDE 9-Role of Occupational Therapy in Falls Prevention
When it comes to preventing falls, occupational therapy practitioners can help in many
ways and in various settings, including hospitals, rehabilitation centers, homes, and in
the community.
Occupational therapy practitioners work with people at risk for falls to help them better
understand and manage their risk factors—whether these are physical, behavioral, or
environmental.
SLIDE 10-Role of Occupational Therapy in Falls Prevention
Occupational therapy practitioners also work with people after they have had a fall when
their injury disrupts their ability to be involved in what they really want to do. They work
with people who have sustained injuries such as hip fractures, wrist fractures, or head
injuries after a fall to answer the question: “How can I do the things I need to do on a
daily basis to care for myself and my home, and to fulfill my responsibilities?
SLIDE 11-Role of Occupational Therapy in Falls Prevention
For those with physical and mental changes that make it harder to do things,
occupational therapy can be directed at improving skills and abilities, like strength or
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balance or how we plan tasks, teaching people how to modify activities so they can do
them safely, or changing the area or environment around them to reduce the risk of
falls. Your home can be made safer by doing things like improving lighting, and
removing tripping hazards like clutter and electrical cords.
SLIDE 12-Minimizing Your Risk Factors
It is important to remember that the risk of falling increases with the number of risk
factors present.
It might be difficult to get rid of all of our risk factors, but a little bit can go a long way
because even small changes can make a big difference!
Consider this “tower analogy.” <PAUSE>
Imagine you are building a tower of bricks, with one brick stacked up on the next. Each
brick represents one risk factor. As the tower gets taller it becomes more unstable.
Likewise, when your risk factors stack up, your risk of falling increases.
The goal is to shrink the tower. We might always have some bricks or risk factors,
especially since some risk factors, like having already fallen or getting older, cannot be
changed, but we can shrink the tower and thereby reduce our risk for falls.
SLIDE 13 (Transition Slide)-Minimizing Your Risk Factors With Occupational
Therapy
Now let’s talk about how you can reduce your risk factors.
Remember, the hallmark of all occupational therapy interventions is that they
incorporate your valued occupations into the occupational therapy process. So, an
occupational therapy practitioner will look at what you want to do and how you want to
do it, considering all your risk factors.
To discuss specifics, let’s frame our conversation around the different types of risk
factors—physical, environmental, and behavioral. I’ll highlight just a few key fall risk
factors, and occupational therapy’s role in addressing them.
When it comes to physical risk factors, medication interactions, impaired vision, and
poor balance, are very powerful influences on fall risk.
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SLIDE 14-Physical Risk Factors: Medications
It is not unusual for a person to use many different types of over-the-counter and
prescription medications. However, these medications can interact and create health
problems that increase fall risk. Speaking with your doctor or pharmacist about your
medications and how they make you feel is an essential step to reduce your fall risk.
Together, you can come up with a medication plan that addresses your needs. It is also
important to stay hydrated since medications can reduce your hydration level, and that
can lead to dizziness, confusion, or falls.
Once you and your doctor determine a medication plan that works for you, occupational
therapy practitioners can also help you incorporate it into your everyday routine through
lists, schedules, and reminders so you don’t forget.
SLIDE–15 Physical Risk Factors: Vision
Have any of you noticed changes in your vision as you’ve gotten older? This can be a
major fall risk.
Vision issues can cause difficulty with balance. Vision problems can also make it hard to
judge how far something is away from you, and to move around obstacles in your path.
It is important to have your vision checked by an eye doctor on a regular basis to
monitor any vision declines. Exercise and sleep are also important to eye health.
Occupational therapy practitioners can also help by teaching people living with macular
degeneration, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, or other vision issues how to complete
daily tasks by helping them learn new skills, such as visual tracking, or the ability to
move one’s eyes from left to right to see any potential barriers in the environment.
Vision skills, such as tracking, can help people learn to use their remaining vision more
efficiently and effectively. Occupational therapy practitioners can recommend special
devices and products to compensate for low vision. Tailored equipment such as
magnifiers or talking computers, clocks, and timers that don’t require you to rely on
vision, can really improve safety and functioning. A home safety assessment by an
occupational therapist might be particularly helpful for a person with low vision to
identify potential problems and solutions in the home. For example, an occupational
therapist might make sure that there is adequate lighting within reach throughout a
person’s house and make recommendations for lighting, such as nightlights and sensor
lights as needed.
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SLIDE 16–Physical Risk Factors: Balance
Not as steady on your feet as you used to be? Good news—a person can improve
balance at any age!
For people needing to improve balance, occupational therapy practitioners use a
number of strategies. Some suggest balance improvement programs such as Tai Chi,
Moving for Better Balance. Others show clients how to safely improve their balance
skills during day-to-day activities. <PAUSE>
The key is to safely maintain an active lifestyle. Occupational therapy practitioners can
help people learn more about what their bodies can and cannot do, and teach people
how to modify activities so they can still do these activities, as safely as possible.
SLIDE 17-Behavioral Risk Factors
Every person has to make decisions about how to engage in activities to be as safe as
possible. Sometimes we need to plan ahead and modify how we do things to take
advantage of our strengths and compensate for things we are no longer able to do as
well as we used to. For example, when you go to sit down you might stop to think about
the best place for you to sit and choose a higher chair instead of that comfortable sofa,
to make it easier to stand back up.
SLIDE 18-Behavioral Risk Factors
Take a look at this picture. What could this woman be doing differently to put her at less
of a risk for a fall? (Refer to key that follows
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She is reaching overhead while standing on a stool.
The stool is not stable. Instead she could use a step stool with a support bar.
She could have organized her kitchen better so the items she needs are within
easy reach.
She should remove clutter or obstacles on the floor that could be a fall hazard
such as the vacuum.
She could have planned ahead and asked someone to help.
SLIDE 19-Environmental Risk Factors
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Our homes may contain many fall risks that we may not be aware of. Take a look at this
room in the picture. What might be a fall risk? (Refer to key that follows)
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The bed covers should not lay on the ground.
The throw rug should be flat and secured to the floor with carpet tape or rubber
backing or be removed.
The shoes should be stored.
The light and tissues are not within reach from the bed.
Cords should not be in walking areas on the floor.
SLIDE 20-Environmental Risk Factors
What is the “occupational therapy difference” when it comes to home safety? To make
your home safer, identifying fall risk factors is just a first step.
An occupational therapy home safety assessment involves carefully evaluating a
person’s abilities and determining whether the home environment fits the person and
supports independence. Room-by-room checks for safety hazards, combined with a
thorough assessment of a person’s functioning in the home, provide a complete picture
of home safety.
Occupational therapy practitioners consider many things when determining whether
something is or is not a safety hazard—including how the person moves around the
home and the habits that increase or reduce the fall risk.
In short, evidence available to date suggests that a one-size-fits-all approach to home
safety will not reduce fall risks. That’s the difference occupational therapy makes: an
occupational therapy practitioner puts you in the center of any changes recommended.
SLIDE 21-Falls Prevention Reflection
Reflecting on what we have talked about, what might you do or what have you done in
the past to protect yourself from falls? Does anyone have tips to share that we haven’t
covered?
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SLIDE 22-Summary of Strategies to Reduce Falls Risk
Keeping in mind all that we learned today, here is a review of strategies to protect
yourself from the possibility of a fall:
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Talk to physicians and pharmacists about medications
Get an eye exam regularly
Stay active and exercise regularly
Find alternatives for potentially risky behaviors
Maintain a healthy sleep schedule
Stay hydrated
Identify and eliminate fall hazards in the home.
SLIDE 23-Conclusion
Falls can be prevented! By taking charge of your health and utilizing the resources that
are available to you, you can lower your chance of falls. Talk to your physician about
services, such as occupational therapy, to help you prevent falls.
Note to speaker: It would be helpful to tell the audience here or elsewhere in the
presentation about falls prevention related programs or services that are available in the
community or offered by the site such as Matter of Balance or Stepping On, programs
that are offered nationwide.
<PAUSE>
Does anyone have any questions?
I have two handouts here for you:
1) Tips for Living Life To Its Fullest: Fall Prevention for Older Adults
2) Fall Prevention Resources
Please feel free to pick them up. Thank you being such a great audience!
SLIDE 24-Acknowledgement of Authors
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