Educating Primary Care Providers On STEADI to Prevent Falls in the Elderly

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this quality improvement (QI) project was to improve primary care provider knowledge and intent to change practice in fall prevention in older adults by providing education on the evidence-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Stopping Elderly Accidents, Deaths, and Injuries (STEADI) Toolkit. Background: More than 25% of adults aged 65 and over fall annually, and emergency departments treat over 3 million fall-related injuries every year. Health care professionals (HCPs) play a significant role in reducing fall-related injuries and associated health care costs. The evidence-based STEADI initiative from the CDC provides HCPs with tools and resources to implement fall prevention strategies into clinical settings. Methods: Guided by the Model for Improvement, participants completed an online education module. A pretest, posttest, post-follow-up design was used to measure a change in participant knowledge and intent to change practice. Results: A total of 8 out of 11 HCPs who participated in the education module, completed the first two surveys. The results from the posttest survey indicate the education session increased HCP knowledge on STEADI and properly performing STEADI. All 5 providers who participated in the post-follow-up survey believed that STEADI will make a difference in controlling falls in elderly patients and reported intent to change practice. Conclusion: The results indicate the education session increased HCP knowledge about the CDC STEADI Toolkit and intent to incorporate into practice. This project serves to inform future QI by providing basic training on STEADI, and future efforts should include wider dissemination to include more providers and evaluate ways providers will communicate STEADI to their patients.