Role of PT and OT in Fall Prevention Using the CDC STEADI Framework

Presented by Jamie M. Caulley

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Video Runtime: 63 Minutes; Learning Assessment Time: 10 Minutes

Despite a clear role for PTs and OTs to screen, assess, and intervene in fall prevention, only 50 percent of rehab patients at risk for falling have their fall risk addressed during their rehabilitation. This course will help PTs and OTs understand the fall prevention resources available to them in the CDC’s Stopping Elderly Accidents, Deaths & Injuries (STEADI) tool kit and how to apply it in routine clinical care to keep their older adult patients healthy and mobile.

Learning Objectives
  • Explain the CDC’s STEADI tool kit and why it was developed, as well as current utilization and perceptions in clinical practice for the care of community-dwelling older adults
  • Identify what is within the scope of practice from STEADI for PTs and OTs, as well as new implications for rehab clinicians from the 2022 World Falls Guidelines
  • Apply concepts of STEADI’s Screen, Assess, and Intervene framework to your clinical care of community-dwelling older adults to facilitate safe participation in daily activities and optimize mobility and function
  • Determine relevant healthcare and community partners for fall prevention in your community
  • Plan how to engage your community in fall prevention efforts using tools from the CDC and partner organizations (e.g., the National Council on Aging)

Meet your instructor

Jamie M. Caulley

Jamie Caulley is a physical therapist working in an outpatient clinical practice for Providence St. Joseph’s Health in Portland, Oregon. Providence St. Joseph’s is an integrated healthcare organization with 8 hospitals, 45+ primary care clinics, and 35+ rehab clinics in Oregon and southwest Washington. She led clinical…

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Chapters & learning objectives

What Is the STEADI Tool Kit?

1. What Is the STEADI Tool Kit?

In this chapter, PTs and OTs will learn about the crisis of falls in older adults that led to the development of the STEADI tool kit for patients and clinicians. They will also learn the current perceptions and practices of patients, PTs, and OTs related to inclusion of fall prevention in standard rehabilitation care.

What Is in Scope for PTs and OTs Related to the STEADI Tool Kit?

2. What Is in Scope for PTs and OTs Related to the STEADI Tool Kit?

In this chapter, PTs and OTs will discover their role in screening, assessing, and intervening in fall risk reduction as a routine standard of practice using the STEADI tool Kit. They will also learn the similarities and differences between the STEADI recommendations and the new World Falls Guidelines.

How to Use STEADI in Your Practice and Community

3. How to Use STEADI in Your Practice and Community

In this chapter, we will look at a case example and apply the STEADI principles to screening, assessing, and intervening for specific fall risk factors. Learners will also find out how to connect fall prevention to what matters most to their patients as well as resources available to educate the larger community on healthy aging and mobility.