Effects of fall education for EMS professionals who answer frequent fall calls from community dwelling older adults, 2025

Item — Call Number: MU Thesis Sit

Identifier: b7932415

Scope and Contents

From the Collection:

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The collection consists of dissertations written by students enrolled in the Monmouth University graduate Occupational Therapy program. The holdings are primarily bound print documents that were submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for the Doctor of Occupational Therapy degree.

During the fall 2022 semester (in instances where the requisite waivers were received from consenting student authors), the Monmouth University Library, together with the University's Graduate School and School of Education, began providing open access to select full-text digital versions of current theses and dissertations through links to the ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global website in the Library's Online Public Access Catalog. Links to these open access digital publications can also be found in the "External Documents" section under any conforming titles that are listed among the holdings itemized in the collection inventory for this finding aid.

Dates

Creation: 2025

Creator

Sitt, Betty (2000- ) (Author, Person)
Crowley, Denise (1971- ) (Thesis advisor, Person)
Garcia, Andrea (Thesis advisor, Person)
Patro, John (1985- ) (Thesis advisor, Person)

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research use. Access is by appointment only.

Research appointments are scheduled by the Monmouth University Library Archives Collections Manager (732-923-4526). A minimum of three days advance notice is required to arrange a research appointment for access to the collection.

Access to the collection is confined to the Monmouth University Library and is subject to patron policies approved by the Monmouth University Library.

Patrons must sign a completed Researcher Registration Form and provide appropriate identification to obtain access to the collection. Copies of these documents will be kept on file at the Monmouth University Library.

Full Extent

1 Items (print book) : 43 pages ; 8.5 x 11.0 inches (28 cm).

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Importance: Community-dwelling older adults (CDA) often utilize EMS for “lift-assists” after falling but rarely report these incidents to their PCPs. This reporting gap may contribute to missed fall prevention interventions and subsequent falls.

Objective: To examine the impact of OT-led fall prevention training for EMS professionals to assess and refer fallers to appropriate healthcare professionals in an effort to prevent future falls.

Design: Quasi-experimental pre-post design to measure changes in knowledge scores.

Setting: Virtual or in EMS stations.

Participants: 62 subjects participated. Inclusion criteria: EMS professionals, aged 18 or older, cognitively intact, and able to communicate effectively. Demographic data, including age and years of experience, were collected to assess variability within the sample.

Intervention: OT-led fall prevention training covered fall risk screenings, referrals, and transfer techniques. Participants were provided with fall prevention resources for distribution.

Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome measure was the change in fall prevention knowledge, measured using pre-and post-surveys. The hypotheses tested were formulated before data collection.

Results: A statistically significant increase in knowledge was observed (p-value = 0.00000011819), suggesting that OT-led education enhances EMS professionals’ ability to assess fall risk and make referrals, regardless of age or years of experience.

Conclusions and Relevance: OT-led fall prevention training significantly improves EMS’ fall prevention knowledge. Leveraging first-response visits, EMS can address fall prevention concerns directly with CDA, reducing unreported falls and improving outcomes.

What This Article Adds: This study highlights EMS professionals’ potential role in addressing unreported falls through OT-led fall prevention education.

Keywords: fall prevention, EMS professionals, referrals to healthcare providers.