Date of Award

2009

Document Type

Scholarly Project

Degree Name

Master of Occupational Therapy (MOT)

Department

Occupational Therapy

First Advisor

Cindy Janssen

Keywords

Accidental Falls -- prevention & control; Aged

Abstract

The purpose of this scholarly project was to develop a multidisciplinary falls prevention program manual intended to be implemented in Senior Citizen Centers (SCC) for the community-dwelling older adult population. Falls have a major impact on the independence of the older adult population aged 65 years and older (Stevens & Sogolow, 2008). Therefore, the goal of this project is to promote healthy aging in place through the use of meaningful occupations in order to potentially reduce the number of falls among the older adults.

A literature review was conducted to obtain scientific reading and research to find what has and has not worked in the prevention of falls among community-dwelling older adults. After a successful search of literature was completed the literature review was developed and the need for an occupation-based multidisciplinary falls prevention program was determined in order to decrease the number of falls and improve participation in meaningful occupations.

A falls prevention program manual was developed according to the Ecological Model of Occupation and the OT Practice Framework. This product has a strong focus on OT and occupation-based activity. The program described in the manual is intended to be implemented in a SCC for community-dwelling older adults who have fallen, who have a fear of falling, and for those wishing to learn how to prevent future falls. The manual includes instructions, handouts, activities, pictures, and assessments needed to implement each of the one hour sessions for the entire six week program.

This manual will provide professionals and older adults the knowledge for the prevention of falls that will allow them to safely and independently age in place. The program will be unique to existing falls prevention programs as it is multidisciplinary and focuses on occupation-based activities to promote older adult participation in the home and community environments.

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