Policy
Falls Prevention and Public Policy
In the fall of 2010, through a grant from the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors, members of the executive committee of the North Carolina Falls Prevention Coalition, which include representatives from the North Carolina Division of Public Health, the UNC Institute on Aging, and the North Carolina Healthy Aging Research Network traveled to four communities across the state to conduct workshops on using policy for falls prevention. The workshops were held in Greensboro, Asheville, Charlotte, and Greenville.
The workshops were designed to:
- Improve understanding of policy: at the organizational, community, and state level
- Present examples of falls prevention policies
- Serve as a catalyst for regional and local action
Participants in the workshops included healthcare professionals, such as physical therapists, emergency medicine personnel, and pharmacists; researchers working on falls prevention, aging advocacy organizations, city planners, and others. Engaging stakeholders from different fields is crucial to falls prevention, as well as to policy change. One of the greatest strengths of the statewide, as well as the local falls prevention coalitions is the strong partnerships that have been built. It is hoped that more people and organizations continue to join the falls prevention movement, so that our efforts can gain a broad base of support. To that end, the Coalition is providing the PowerPoint presentations from these workshops:
National, state, and local falls prevention policies
Ellen Schneider, MBA
Policy change for falls prevention: Making it happen
Rebecca Hunter, MEd
Catch 'em before they fall: Preventing falls through policy
Jennifer Woody, MPA
North Carolina's first statewide plan for preventing injuries and violence announced by the NC Division of Public Health, Injury and Violence Prevention Branch, Chronic Disease and Injury Section
"Building for Strength: North Carolina's Strategic Plan for Preventing Injuries and Violence 2009-2014"
June 2010 - According to a statement from the North Carolina Division of Public Health, this plan sets out the goal of reducing the rate of morbidity and mortality from injuries and violence by 15% by 2014. In order to achieve that goal, it’s vital that all stakeholders focus prevention efforts on the leading causes of unintentional injuries: motor vehicle crashes, unintentional poisoning, and falls; as well as the leading causes of intentional injuries: suicide, and homicide.
The other goals of the plan will strengthen the injury prevention infrastructure in the state by addressing data and surveillance, research and evaluation, messaging, policy and environmental change, building the injury prevention community, and workforce development.
The Burden of Unintentional Falls in North Carolina 2009
Jennifer Woody, MPA
North Carolina Injury and Violence Prevention Branch,
Division of Public Health,
Department of Health and Human Services,
State of North Carolina