Award Date

5-1-2022

Degree Type

Doctoral Project

Degree Name

Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT)

Department

Physical Therapy

First Committee Member

Jenny Kent

Second Committee Member

Daniel Young

Third Committee Member

Merrill Landers

Number of Pages

34

Abstract

Otago is an evidence-based program that is designed to reduce falls in community dwelling older adults by individualizing an exercise program with three key components: strength, balance, and a walking program. Unfortunately, Nevada clinicians do not utilize the program frequently or entirely with patients in outpatient and/or home health physical therapy. Evidence shows it reduces fall risk, but it has barriers to implementation in the United States. The barriers to integration are primarily due to the plan of care that stems from a 12-month timeframe and several phone call appointments which does not fit well in the American healthcare system. In correspondence to the confusion of placing patients in a fall risk level through three screening measures and providing professional judgement for exercise progression. Our project aimed to break down barriers that hinder the use of Otago Exercise Program (OEP) in clinical practice in Nevada. Specifically, use the reduced program of 6 months versus 12 months, utilizing telehealth for the phone calls, added more descriptive terminology to the exercise manual, and provided case examples to increase confidence with exercise prescription and progression as well as provide an opportunity for professional development and education on three University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) physical therapy students.

Keywords

Exercise; Falls (Accidents)--Prevention

Disciplines

Physical Therapy

File Format

pdf

File Size

1000 KB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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