For older adults, a simple fall can snowball into a series of debilitating health issues. But early screening and some often simple preventive measures can eliminate the chances that a misstep leads to a hospital stay.
UNLV faculty and students from the UNLV School of Integrated Health, long with a team of community partners, will provide the community’s older populations with balance and memory screenings, as well as a litany of evidence-based resources, throughout September.
at various locations around Las Vegas, Henderson, and Pahrump.
ҳ| 鶹ýӳ the Clinics
falls among adults 65 and older caused more than 36,000 deaths in 2020, making it the leading cause of injury death for that segment of the population. That same year, emergency departments across the country recorded 3 million visits for older adult falls.
UNLV physical therapy professor Jennifer Nash launched the falls prevention clinics 12 years ago to address those alarming statistics.
"Many people who fall, even if they’re not injured, become afraid of falling. This fear may cause a person to cut down on their everyday activities," Nash notes. "When a person is less active, they become weaker, which can increase their chances of falling again."
As chair of the Nevada Goes Falls Free Coalition, she helps coordinate the clinics along with partners Dignity Health, UMC, Touro University Nevada, OLLI at UNLV, Sun City Anthem, the Cleveland Clinic, and more. And she enlists a cadre of students from UNLV’s physical therapy and occupational therapy programs to help conduct the clinics.
After filling out a brief questionnaire provided by the CDC, participants complete a few non-invasive balance tests. These tests include sitting in a chair and standing up straight as many times as possible in 30 seconds and maintaining balance by putting one foot directly in front of the other while standing.
UNLV’s student volunteers then take participants through a memory screening before finishing with a personalized plan of recommendations. The entire process, from questionnaire to consultation, takes between 20-30 minutes.
“We provide each participant with evidence-based screens and ensure they have resources they can utilize to decrease their individual risk factors,” Nash said. “If you’ve had a fall within the last year, if you feel unsteady when you’re walking, or if you worry about falling, you should definitely get screened once a year.”
Nash emphasized the need for more education around falls. One of the most critical components of the the falls prevention screenings, she added, is using them as an educational opportunity to inform older adults about available resources.
“This is what my students are going to be educating the public on when they come to the screenings to prevent future risks,” she said. “We’ll talk to them about their Vitamin D intake, proper footwear, refer them to community exercise or falls prevention programs if they are interested — simple things like that.
“A patient could be having balance issues for something they’d have no idea about. Maybe they’re on a medication that’s causing their blood pressure to drop, or maybe their glasses are outdated and they need a new prescription. These are things that are easy to fix.”
Read more: Physical therapy professor Jennifer Nash shares falls prevention tips.
