953: Reducing Falls, Disability Data Collection

SUMMER JOHNSON: 

This is the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition for Wednesday, July 23, 2025. I'm Summer Johnson. Now, today's news from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.

AMY CIARLO: 

Health care providers play a critical role in screening for, and assessing, falls risk and intervening through referrals to effective clinical and community strategies to reduce risk.

JOHNSON: 

A new ASTHO Health Policy Update details recent legislation, both federal and state, focused on reducing falls by older adults. Here to discuss is ASTHO's Amy Ciarlo.

CIARLO: 

Policies that directly address older adult falls are not often a legislative priority, despite falls being the leading cause of death and injury in older adults. Instead, what we tend to see are policies that can reduce risk factors that increase older adult falls in areas such as transportation, health care, and nutrition access.

JOHNSON: 

Ciarlo says certain populations are more in need of protection.

CIARLO: 

We're talking about falls prevention. We're talking about older adults, but we see subpopulations that are more at risk for falls, namely, older adults living with dementia, the most common being Alzheimer's disease, and we see an increased risk among aging veterans.

JOHNSON: 

Ciarlo adds there are several policy levers that can be used to improve legislative action.

CIARLO: 

That might include updating building codes and standards that reduce trip hazards and improve visibility and walkability. Home assessment and modification programs to help install grab rails and ramps or expanding falls risk screening among healthcare settings.

JOHNSON: 

You can read the Health Policy Update by heading to the link in the show notes.

Tomorrow, Thursday, July 24 at 11 a.m. Eastern, ASTHO and the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists will host a joint webinar to explore data collection methods for people with disabilities. Rebecca Ruvane with the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists shares more.

REBECCA RUVANE: 

This project was really designed to dig into that ambiguity a bit, to better understand what data sources we do leverage, how they measure or capture populations with disabilities, and what data sources we might be able to use that we don't traditionally look at in public health to enrich that understanding.

JOHNSON: 

The project's findings shaped valuable recommendations.

RUVANE: 

We really need more standardized definitions for disability so that when we look across these data systems, we can do things like link information or make comparisons.

JOHNSON: 

Ruvane says connecting with the disabled community was critical to their work.

RUVANE: 

So, as public health practitioners, we're often the data stewards. It's our responsibility to engage with folks with disabilities so that we're sharing how data is collected, how it's being used, and hear their feedback or insights on what that data means to them, based on their own experiences.

JOHNSON: 

Click the link in the show notes to register for tomorrow's webinar.

Also happening tomorrow, Thursday, July 24, at 2 p.m. Eastern, ASTHO is hosting a webinar on communication and public health. Tune in to tomorrow's newscast to hear what to expect from the session from speaker Monique Farmer. You still have time to register. We have a link in the show notes.

And next week, on Wednesday, July 30, John Auerbach, ASTHO past president and senior vice president for CFI [ICF], will participate in a webinar sponsored by the Public Health Institute titled, "AI and Public Health: Amplifying Our Ability to Meet the Needs in Our Communities." Head to the link in the show notes to register for that event.

That'll do it for today. We're back tomorrow morning with more ASTHO news and information. I'm Summer Johnson, you're listening to the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition. Have a great day.