Research suggests that Idaho’s population has a higher aging rate than the national average. Older adults are a vulnerable population , and physical, mental, and emotional age-related changes can severely impact lifestyle and quality of life. Falls are the major cause of unintentional injury and deaths among older adults, and fall prevention is considered to be a public health priority.
While there are plenty of evidence based fall prevention programs to choose from, the team ultimately selected this one due to:
– the setting being in Idaho with rural geography
– lack of funds and infrastructure
– transportation being limited and time-consuming
– health professional shortages
The classes last 45-60 minutes and meet 2-3 times per week. Each session runs for 10 weeks, and each of the 117 sites must hold 3 sessions per year. In these classes, volunteer leaders and coaches to teach various topics, including the benefits of physical activity on fall prevention, fitness basics, and injury prevention. Participants of the program ranged from those with functional limitations to triathletes, and the program had a 85% retention rate.
Program results:
– Participants reported improved physical, mental and social health and wellness, along with increased stability, strength, energy, and confidence
– The volunteer leaders enjoyed opportunities for personal growth
– Hosting a site promoted community growth
The program is volunteer-led with a “train the trainer” model. The classes take place in a variety of areas wherever older adults gather, including churches, libraries, hospitals, . This type of learning environment is great because the volunteers are there because they want to be there. Both the participants and the volunteer leaders thoroughly enjoyed the program because of the socializing and group learning that brought them back week after week. Everyone worked on improving their balance, flexibility, and strength, but took so much more out of the program. Improving the self-efficacy of these older adults changed their lives.
Evaluation methods:
120 participants were recruited from 10 sites, coming from approximately 50% rural and 50% urban settings. The data was collected over two 10-week session with a baseline measure. Measurement methods included the use of demographic surveys, SF-36v2 (quality of life questionnaire), and the 8-foot Timed Up-and-Go (TUG).
Results of the evaluation include:
– 68% of participants reported improvements in physical function and ability
– 72% of participants reported improvements in mental health
– 85% of participants significantly increased in social functioning
– 72% of participants reported an increase in energy levels
Advantages of the program include long-term financial sustainability in a variety of community settings and safe physical activity and education opportunities for older adults in rural communities. However, limitations of the evaluation include lack of detailed medical and medication histories, no tracking of falls, and self report data.
Next steps would be to consider community partners for age-friendly parks and walkability in the community.
I agree with the position on this issue. Older folks are very vulnerable to all types of illness, diseases, conditions or injuries, especially falls. I like the way this study focused on older adults from both urban and rural areas. This is important in that they may have various environments that they engage in, but both groups may still not get enough exercise to maintain fitness to prevent falls. Even though this study is completely right, the main focus of all of this is teaching and educating our younger folks on the benefits and negatives of physical activity and fitness and its effect on us as we grow older. This would lower heath costs, increase various aspects of health, and prevent/slow down various health declines or progression of eventual illnesses.
Could you please go in depth more on the “Train the Trainer” model?
I agree on your analysis of the study. Medical histories is crucial to overall well-being for some older adults so that should take a higher priority before other aspects. Also, I don’t understand why they do not track the falls if that is one of the things they are trying to prevent. There is no more info on why that is?