A new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-funded (CDC) program in collaboration with the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy and UNC School of Medicine will provide community pharmacists with the resources to help prevent falls in older adults.
The STEADI-Rx (Stopping Elderly Accidents, Deaths and Injuries) initiative aims to reduce the risk of falls by allowing more collaboration between pharmacists and other healthcare providers. Stefanie Ferreri from the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy’s Division of Practical Advancement and Clinical Education and Susan Blalock from the Division of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy are the principal investigators for the grant.
It is especially important to try and minimize fall risk as the older adult population is projected to grow by nearly 50 percent between 2016 and 2030. Falls in U.S. older adults increased 30 percent from 2007 to 2016, and are the most common cause of both fatal and nonfatal injuries for adults aged 65 and older in the United States. Half of older adults are taking at least one medication that could increase their fall risk due to side effects such as dizziness, drowsiness and altered reaction times. STEADI-Rx includes materials for older adults to understand fall risks and to prevent incidents for themselves and others.
In addition to advising older adults on fall prevention, STEADI-Rx includes a collaborative care plan for pharmacists. The program advises pharmacists to screen patients using three questions and identify high-risk medications. Since community pharmacists are medication experts, they have a unique responsibility to identify when a patient is at risk.
“Medications are one of the contributing factors that lead to falls in older adults, and pharmacists can manage the medications and reduce risks,” Ferreri said.
The new program is based off STEADI, a similar CDC initiative for physicians and their patients. CDC will be promoting STEADI-Rx through social media posts targeted at patients, pharmacists and other healthcare workers.