"FallProof!" offers the following benefits: flexibility - program participants can engage in group activities that take into account their individual abilities so that the program is not too easy or too difficult for them; guidance - "FallProof!" illustrates the easiest and safest ways to present each of the program's exercise components, addressing issues from safety concerns to the best ways to offer feedback to participants; supplemental materials - reproducible health, assessment, and safety questionnaires help program instructors gather crucial information and save time and energy; and results - the "FallProof!" program has been proven to reduce the risk of falling in participants who've completed one or more rotations of the program.

Table of Contents

Part I The theory behind the program: understanding balance and mobility; why do many older adults fall? Part II FallProof program for improving balance and mobility: screening and assessment; center of gravity (COG) control training; multisensory training; postural strategy training; gait pattern enhancement and variation training; muscle strength and endurance; flexibility training. Part III Implementing the FallProof program: setting the stage for learning; program planning and class management techniques.

Author Biography

Debra J. Rose, PhD, is a professor in the division of kinesiology and health promotion and codirector of the Center for Successful Aging at California State University at Fullerton. She is also a professor in the physical therapy department at Chapman University at Orange, California. Her primary research focus is on the enhancement of mobility and the prevention of falls in later years. Dr. Rose is nationally and internationally recognized for her work in fall risk reduction assessment and programming. Her research in fall risk reduction in the elderly has been published in numerous peer-reviewed publications, including the Journal of the American Geriatric Society, Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Neurology Report, and the Journal of Aging and Physical Activity. The innovative fall risk reduction program she developed and describes in this manual was recognized by the National Council on Aging as one of seven meritorious programs nationwide that promotes a healthy, active lifestyle. She is a fellow of the Research Consortium of AAPHERD, former executive board member of the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity, and coeditor of the Journal of Aging and Physical Activity.