113 An Online Platform for the Home Falls and Accidents Screening Tool (Home Fast)

Abstract

Abstract The Home Falls and Accidents Screening Tool (HOME FAST) is a well validated and researched tool designed to identify risk of falls in home environments for older people. The reach of the tool is limited by its availability only in paper-based form. This paper will outline the process involved in making the HOME FAST available online for health professionals, older people and their carers, and its utility in providing links to recommendations to modify home hazards, referring on to appropriate health professionals, generating reports, and communicating results with general practitioners. An online platform is being designed for both the health professional and self-report versions of the HOME FAST which will be available for use on smartphones, tablets and computers. The program will indicate high, moderate and low falls risk. The platform will be tested by groups of health professionals, and older people throughout NSW. Once approved the online platform will be made generally available and demographic data will be collected about the person the HOME FAST is used with and common hazards they face. Older people have been recruited through NSW council community groups and senior’s expos to trial the online HOME FAST and provide feedback through surveys, interviews and focus groups. Health professionals are being recruited through professional networks. We anticipate collection of useful data about the home environmental risks present in the homes of older people as well as the uptake and adoption of the online HOME FAST and its potential to be used routinely in health professional practice. Findings will inform primary falls prevention in the community, how older people view the advice that is given through the on-line resources and how the home environment can be implicated in falls risk for older people living in the community.