title: Building a sustainable academic-community partnership: focus on fall prevention.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To create an interprofessional/interdisciplinary education (IPE), pilot course that provided a representative group of students the opportunity to develop a 6 week fall reduction program for a group of elder volunteers who were independently living in the community. The authors describe the processes that occurred for the course and student-led program to be developed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  This pilot course provided opportunities for interprofessional student learning, faculty practice and development, and a program to improve the health of the participants. Sustaining interprofessional collaboration is challenging, primarily due to scheduling difficulties and faculty workloads.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  More time needs to be devoted to developing the team skills of students, as well as building their knowledge of the contributions each discipline can make to a holistic view of elders. The next phase of this project needs to include pre and post measurement of students' readiness for IPE and elders to more adequately assess the components and effects of the course and program for fall prevention.
authors.affiliation: School of Social Work and Occupational Therapy Department, University of New England, Portland, ME 04103-2670, USA. egray@une.edu
authors.forename: Betsey
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gray
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Macrae
mesh_terms: D000056:Accident Prevention / Q000379:methods*; D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000368:Aged; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D003479:Curriculum; D004521:Educational Measurement; D005260:Female; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D008297:Male; D017145:Models, Educational; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000458:organization & administration*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D016730:Program Development; D015397:Program Evaluation; D013336:Students, Health Occupations