THE DEVELOPMENT, IMPLEMENTATION AND EVALUATION OF A PILOT OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY LED FALLS EDUCATION INITIATIVE ON A TRAUMA ORTHOPAEDIC WARD

Background: The Irish Hip Fracture Database (a clinically-led, web-based national audit) outlines standards for best practice for Irish hospitals in relation to fracture management. One of these standards states that all... [ view full abstract ]

Background:
The Irish Hip Fracture Database (a clinically-led, web-based national audit) outlines standards for best practice for Irish hospitals in relation to fracture management. One of these standards states that all patients presenting with a fragility fracture following a fall should be offered multidisciplinary assessment and intervention to prevent future falls.

Method:
The aim of this research (ethical approval granted) was to pilot and evaluate an Occupational Therapy education initiative aimed at providing post fracture patients on an in-patient Trauma Orthopaedic ward with a pre-discharge education session aimed at minimising environmental hazards.
All eligible patients on an orthopaedic ward were invited to participate in the study.

Results:
Over the course of a 5 week period, 35 people met the inclusion criteria, 18 of these consented to participate in the study, and 9 were able to complete the intervention session. The mean age was 80. Short FES-I scores did not change significantly pre and post. An average of 3.44 items was identified for intervention on the home hazard action plan. Adherence to this was at 78%. There was 100% satisfaction with the group with all recommending its continuation.

Conclusion:
This was a small scale pilot study with no control group, however it was useful in its design to determine feasibility of running the intervention on a longer term basis and confirming the value of addressing environmental hazards in falls prevention and the role of OT within this. The process and results of the research will be presented in poster format.