An Integrated Approach to Falls Prevention: A Model for Linking Clinical and Community Interventions through the Massachusetts Prevention and Wellness Trust Fund.
Older adult falls continue to be a public health priority across the United States-Massachusetts (MA) being no exception. The MA Prevention and Wellness Trust Fund (PWTF) program within the MA Department of Public Health aims to reduce the physical and economic burdens of chronic health conditions by linking evidence-based clinical care with community intervention programs. The PWTF partnerships that focused on older adult falls prevention integrated the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention'sStopping Elderly Accidents, Death and Injuriestoolkit into clinical settings. Partnerships also offer referrals for home safety assessments, Tai Chi, and Matter of Balance programs. This paper describes the PWTF program implementation process involving 49 MA organizations, while highlighting the successes achieved and lessons learned. With the unprecedented expansion of the U.S. Medicare beneficiary population, and the escalating incidence of falls, widespread adoption of effective prevention strategies will become increasingly important for both public health and for controlling healthcare costs. The lessons learned from this PWTF initiative offer insights and recommendations for future falls prevention program development and implementation.
Prevention and Wellness Trust Fund, Bureau of Community Health and Prevention, Massachusetts Department of Public Health , Boston, MA , USA.
Laura J
LJ
Coe
Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center , Abilene, TX , USA.
Julie Ann
JA
St John
Prevention and Wellness Trust Fund, Bureau of Community Health and Prevention, Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA; JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc., Boston, MA, USA.
Santhi
S
Hariprasad
Emergency Medicine, Boston Medical Center , Boston University , USA.
Kalpana N
KN
Shankar
School of Nursing, University of Massachusetts Lowell , Lowell, MA , USA.
Patricia A
PA
MacCulloch
Prevention and Wellness Trust Fund, Bureau of Community Health and Prevention, Massachusetts Department of Public Health , Boston, MA , USA.
Amy L
AL
Bettano
Prevention and Wellness Trust Fund, Bureau of Community Health and Prevention, Massachusetts Department of Public Health , Boston, MA , USA.
Jean
J
Zotter
Deaths and Injuries; Massachusetts Prevention and Wellness Trust Fund; clinical and community linkage; community-based fall prevention; implementing Stopping Elderly Accidents; older adult fall prevention