Occupational Therapy and the Use of Technology on Older Adult Fall Prevention: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Introduction: Falls are the second leading cause of accidental or non-intentional deaths worldwide and are the most common problem as people age. The primary purpose of addressing falls is to detect, prevent, treat, and reduce their incidence and consequences. Previous studies identified that multifactorial programs, an interprofessional team, and assistive technology are required to address falls in older adults effectively. Accordingly, the research question is as follows: what are the scope, type of studies, and approaches and strategies to fall risk using technology in the existing occupational therapy literature regarding interventions to address the effects of falls in older adults on daily living? Methods: This scoping review was carried out in January 2020 through Biblioteca Virtual de Salud España, C.I.N.A.H.L., Cochrane Plus, OTSeeker, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. Results: Twelve papers were included. We analyzed the year and journal of publication, authors’ affiliation, and design of the study, and thematic categories. There were three themes: participants’ characteristics, type of intervention, and fall approach and type of technology used. Discussion and Conclusions: The literature obtained is scarce. It is considered to still be an emerging theme, especially when considering the use of technology for occupational therapy.

Occupational therapist's actions in preventing falls of the elderly person at home: an integrative review of literature (2017-2022)

“…Among the findings on the occupational therapy process, two types of interventions stand out with different characteristics regarding the professional's possibilities for action, namely: multicomponent intervention and single-component intervention. Single-component interventions are generally associated with one element, which may be: home safety assessment and modification, fall prevention education, or an exercise program (Miranda-Duro et al, 2021). Multicomponent interventions consist of individualized and comprehensive assessment, home modifications, home visits, educational components to prevent falls and functional training for balance, strength and mobility (Stark et al, 2017a;Blaylock & Vogtle, 2017;Miranda-Duro et al, 2021).…”

Prioritizing and Overcoming Barriers to e-Health Use among Elderly People: Implementation of the Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP)

“…In this study, e-health system is defined as the digital or electronic healthcare products and services which increase the social independence and participation of elderly people relatively for health purposes [ 16 ]. The few researches that already have sought to investigate the reasons for using or not using technology have yielded somewhat contradictory results [ 17 ]. Although researchers revealed that older people have a positive attitude towards technology [ 5 , 18 ], hence they are less likely to use those technologies due to some barriers as compared to young adults [ 19 – 21 ].…”

Video Telehealth Occupational Therapy Services for Older Veterans: National Survey Study (Preprint)

“…OT plays a key role in supporting older adults' participation in activities of daily living (ADL) such as bathing and dressing [13], instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) such as medication management and meal preparation [14], and home modifications to increase safety and prevent injury [15]. Although evidence for telerehabilitation is growing [9,[16][17][18][19][20], with video telehealth being used for exercise [21][22][23], recent reviews of telehealth OT highlight a paucity of evidence [24][25][26]. Furthermore, there are barriers to using technology for older adults, including low technical literacy [27] and some older adults' preference for telephone [28].…”

“…Little is known about how such diverse, complex OT interventions will be delivered using video telehealth, specifically to older adults, a population with distinct needs that may make participation in video telehealth more challenging because of decreased hearing, vision, and sensory processing; increased rates of cognitive impairment and reliance on family caregivers; as well as overall lower rates of technology literacy and use. Our own work providing home safety evaluations using video telehealth in dementia care highlighted numerous technological challenges, including inconsistent audio and visual signals [26].…”