Older adults make up an increasingly large share of the U.S. population, and preventing falls is an important part of keeping them healthy. A research team at Western Michigan University says it can help by training healthcare workers.
With a $412,612 grant from the Michigan Health Endowment Fund, the “SaferCaring” group has created online modules aimed at changing healthcare providers’ behaviors, improving communication and problem-solving around falls prevention.
School of Interdisciplinary Health Programs Assistant Professor Cassie Lopez-Jeng said what makes the program unique is who it’s made for.
“It really is meant to ensure everyone that works in a facility —
that they do indeed have a role to play in falls prevention —
because they are part of the organization, they are part of the safety culture whether they believe that they are or not,” Lopez-Jeng told WMUK.
The group is testing the platform by sharing it with healthcare providers. The SaferCaring team said 300 people have used it to date.
Falls prevention expert Steven Eberth is part of the research group. (He was based at Western when the grant began, though he’s now an associate professor at Bradley University in Illinois.) In an interview in Kalamazoo last week, Eberth said feedback has so far been positive.
“Employees want to have a say,” he said. “They want to be heard. Our approach gives them that voice, it gives them an opportunity to engage in the process of collaborative problem solving in the organization, to be a part of preventing falls.”