Unprecedented Opportunities in Fall Prevention for Occupational Therapy Practitioners

Lindy Clemson, PhD, MAppSC(OT), DipOT, is Associate Professor in Ageing, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Falls are a serious threat to the lives and occupational well-being of older adults. More than one-third of community-living adults ages 65 yr or older fall each year (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2008; Rubenstein & Josephson, 2002), and 20%–30% of falls result in moderate to severe injuries, such as traumatic brain injuries and fractures (Sterling, O’Connor, & Bonadies, 2001). Over the past 20 years, an explosion of research across disciplines has deepened our understanding of fall risk factors and effective interventions. This special issue of AJOT on fall prevention provides examples of how occupational therapy practitioners are contributing to this body of knowledge. Cumulative fall research knowledge to date has informed three major evidencebased initiatives that are currently underway to support practice in fall prevention: (1) publication of the Clinical Practice Guideline: Prevention of Falls in Older Persons (American Geriatrics Society [AGS] & British Geriatrics Society [BGS], 2010), (2) the CDC’s efforts to disseminate four specific fall prevention programs with documented effectiveness, and (3) the emergence of state fall prevention coalitions. It is critically important for occupational therapy practitioners to be aware of these initiatives. Each offers occupational therapy practitioners unprecedented opportunities to extend and strengthen their active role in fall prevention efforts at the national, state, and local levels. This editorial highlights these three initiatives and discusses how occupational therapy clinicians and researchers can contribute to each of them and build on their success to further develop fall prevention research and practice.