Recognizing the severity of falls, the California Department of Public Health is organizing a statewide Tai Chi program to reduce fall risk among older Californians. A major part of this program is the training of instructors at the local level. This weekend, January 22-23, 2011, the Northern California instructor training program will be held in Sacramento, CA.
I have been hired as an expert to instruct workshop participants how to perform three of the six fall risk assessments that are part of this program. The first thing I asked who my audience was and who the target population of this program was. Afterall, aging is a unique experience for each of us and there are extreme differences between frail 65 and thriving 85.
The instructor population of this training is current Tai Chi instructors, Physical Activity Coordinators and Instructors, Recreation Therapists and Physical Therapists and the target population for the Tai Chi: Moving for Better Balance program is older adults at risk of falling, due to decreased mobility, history of falls, decreased overall health, and balance deficits.
As more research is done on the role of exercise and fall prevention, the need for standardized assessment procedures and uniform definitions is undeniable. Researchers must be on the same page; measuring the same variables (per definition) in the same manner (per protocol or procedure).
Through standardized pre- and post-study assessments, my research study demonstrated that the FallProof™ at Home DVD series SIGNIFICANTLY increased balance confidence while SIGNIFICANTLY decreasing fall risk. In fact, seven study participants were no longer identified "at risk" of falls after the 12-week balance and mobility intervention.
I am excited about being part of this program and spreading the word about ASSESSMENTS.
The Fall Prevention Lady
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