Fall prevention for caregiver counsellors

Objectives / Description

In the German long-term care system family caregivers can get some financial reimbursement in case they do not require professional care services. Yet, according to the official regulations these informal caregivers need to receive conselling by professional nursing care services on a regular basis. The content of such consultations is not mandatory but has the aim to ensure good quality care. Fall prevention and exercise promotion should play a bigger part in these care consultations. Therefore, employees of ambulatory care services, who carry out counselling on nursing care, were addressed. These employees were meant to have a multiplier effect within their services.

Procedure

• Refreshing the knowledge on the German experts' standards on fall prevention.
• Strengthening the links between the new created Otago-Exercise Program and exercise promotion, carried out by care staff.
• A nursing expert (nursing scientist with focus on fall prevention) and a geriatrician offered a course containing lectures and a small-group exercise.

Duration: One afternoon of 180 minutes (including breaks)

Procedure: Lecture and case processing in small groups

There was no fee charged.

Stakeholders and their tasks

• Project employees: organization and implementation of the training course
• Local partners (e.g. health insurance): provision of premises
• Ambulatory nursing services: registration and release of employees

Material

Presentation of the training session (available only in German) 

Expenses / Time

• Preparation of training courses, including organization: approx. 8 hours
• Postage expenses
• If necessary: Space rental and catering
• If necessary: Lecturer fee

Results

40 nurses from 6 outpatient nursing services participated in the training course. Due to the short project duration, the practical implementation was not evaluated.

Experiences / Advice

• The ambulatory nursing services expressed a great interest in the topic of fall prevention.
• To a large extent, basic knowledge concerning fall prevention existed. Some participants had knowledge concerning the newly created services such as the Otago Exercise Program. It was not possible to evaluate the implementation and penetration.
• A major obstacle seem to be any costs, since a training course of a local education provider a year earlier was rarely visited due to the fees announced. Thus, it appears reasonable to provide financial support (e.g. by health insurances) for according training offers, so that the topic can be anchored well in ambulatory nursing services.