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Abstract
BackgroundThe Massachusetts (MA) Department of Public Health engaged the Injury Prevention Center at Boston Medical Center to develop a statewide baseline (2012) inventory of evidence-based (EB) community falls prevention programs for community-dwelling older adults.MethodsA web-based survey of organizations (n = 825) serving older adults was deployed in two parts. The Directors’ survey determined if a falls prevention program had been offered in 2012, the salience (rating of importance) of falls prevention for the organization, and intention to offer future falls prevention programming. A falls prevention program offered in 2012 triggered a second survey of Director-designated Coordinators to obtain information on programs’ dates and locations. For the last program offered, data were collected on the number of participants, the training and occupations of program facilitators, and program funding. The last programs served as a cross-sectional sample of all programs offered during 2012.ResultsResponse rates were 55 % (N = 457) and 86 % (N = 112) for the Directors’ and Coordinators’ surveys, respectively. The mean salience score for falls prevention was 3.68, on a 1–5 (most salient) scale; 12 % of respondents indicated offering ≥1 evidence-based program during 2012. We documented 107 EB programs, the majority of which (83 %) were offered by public agencies that serve older adults.ConclusionsInfrastructure for deployment of EB falls prevention programs is developing in MA, despite the absence of institutionalized funding, legislative mandates, widespread referrals from healthcare providers, or health insurance reimbursement.
Highlights
The Massachusetts (MA) Department of Public Health engaged the Injury Prevention Center at Boston Medical Center to develop a statewide baseline (2012) inventory of evidence-based (EB) community falls prevention programs for community-dwelling older adults
Fall-related death rates are lower in Massachusetts than in the USA as a whole, rates are increasing in both the state and the nation (Massachusetts Department of Public Health 2014)
The 2010 Massachusetts Behavioral Risk Factor Survey indicated that 35 % of older adults who experienced a fall in the prior 3 months sought medical attention and/or restricted activity for at least 1 day (Massachusetts Department of Public Health 2014)
Summary
In Massachusetts, as elsewhere, falls are the leading cause of injury-related deaths and non-fatal injuries among older adults (Massachusetts Department of Public Health 2014). Fall-related death rates are lower in Massachusetts than in the USA as a whole, rates are increasing in both the state and the nation (Massachusetts Department of Public Health 2014). The 2010 Massachusetts Behavioral Risk Factor Survey indicated that 35 % of older adults who experienced a fall in the prior 3 months sought medical attention and/or restricted activity for at least 1 day (Massachusetts Department of Public Health 2014). Of the Massachusetts older adults hospitalized for fall injuries in 2010, 20 % had traumatic brain injury and 10 % had hip or other femur fractures (Massachusetts Department of Public Health 2014). Non-fatal fall injuries are associated with decreased quality of life, lower functioning, and increased healthcare utilization (Sterling et al 2001)
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