Development of STEADI: a fall prevention resource for health care providers

Abstract

Falls among people aged ≥65 years are the leading cause of both injury deaths and emergency department visits for trauma. Research shows that many falls are preventable. In the clinical setting, an effective fall intervention involves assessing and addressing an individual's fall risk factors. This individualized approach is recommended in the American and British Geriatrics Societies' (AGS/BGS) practice guideline. This article describes the development of STEADI (Stopping Elderly Accidents, Deaths, and Injuries), a fall prevention tool kit that contains an array of health care provider resources for assessing and addressing fall risk in clinical settings. As researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Injury Center, we reviewed relevant literature and conducted in-depth interviews with health care providers to determine current knowledge and practices related to older adult fall prevention. We developed draft resources based on the AGS/BGS guideline, incorporated provider input, and addressed identified knowledge and practice gaps. Draft resources were reviewed by six focus groups of health care providers and revised. The completed STEADI tool kit, Preventing Falls in Older Patients-A Provider Tool Kit, is designed to help health care providers incorporate fall risk assessment and individualized fall interventions into routine clinical practice and to link clinical care with community-based fall prevention programs.

Keywords: clinical care; elderly; fall prevention; falls; older adults.

FIgure 1

Algorithm for Fall risk Assessment, Treatment, and Referral