Fall Prevention Knowledge and Practice Patterns in Home Health Physical Therapists

Physical therapists play a vital role in fall risk assessment and prevention due to their focus on modifiable physical risk factors. Objectives: To assess home health physical therapists’ knowledge of evidence-based fall prevention guidelines and fall risk assessment tools. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using both online and handwritten questionnaires. Data were collected from therapists working with elderly patients in home-based care using purposive sampling. The sample size was determined based on an estimated 25% prevalence of key practice patterns from prior studies, which would provide ± 7% precision at a 95% confidence level for our primary outcomes. Informed consent was obtained before data collection. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 23.0. Results: A total of 151 physiotherapists participated. Among them, 30.5% reported that most of their patients were aged 50 or above. Regarding screening, 80.8% agreed that all clients aged 50+ should be assessed for fall risk. However, only 31.8% conducted regular fall risk assessments, while 21.2% did not assess at all. Tools commonly used included the Berg Balance Test (39.1%) and the Timed Up and Go Test (TUG) (13.9%). Most therapists (75.5%) followed standard assessment flow charts, though 24.5% did not. Preventive measures were used by 90.7% of low-risk and 64.2% of high-risk patients. Conclusions: While awareness of fall risk screening is high among physiotherapists, assessment practices vary widely. Many do not use standardized protocols or assess consistently. There is a need for targeted training and standardized guidelines to improve fall prevention in older adults.