Page 45 - Preventing Falls: How to Develop Community-based Fall Prevention Programs for Older Adults

Chapter 8. Promoting Your Fall Prevention Program

CHAPTER 8

Promoting Your Fall

Prevention Program

Promoting your fall prevention program to older adults, the
media, and others in the community will be critical to its
success. This chapter provides tips and techniques that you
can use to engage your community in fall prevention.

Conducting a successful campaign
The word “campaign” applies to a public health education
effort of any size. Even if you are only developing a flyer to
announce your new home-based exercise program for older
adults, you still need to determine the who, what, when,
where, how, and why of getting the flyer written, designed,
printed, and distributed so that it will effectively reach your
target audience.
This section provides an overview of campaign development
from concept through evaluation. For more detailed
information on the theory and application of health
communication, visit the CDC Office of the Associate
Director for Communication website shown under
Promotion web resources.
The eight steps outlined below will help you make the best
use of your limited time and resources in developing a
successful community outreach campaign.
Step 1: Assess your current situation. Take a realistic look
at your community and ask pertinent questions.
• Is your community concerned about fall prevention or
will you need to lay some educational groundwork?

• Do you believe your local media (radio, TV, newspaper,
websites) would support your campaign?
• What resources do you have that can help your efforts?

• Would a campaign be easier to mount if you partnered
with other organizations in your community who serve
older adults?

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