Key Takeaways
Use the Home Hazard Removal Program to serve older adults at high risk of falling in your community by removing common hazards and educating about falls risk.
The Home Hazard Removal Program, or HARP, is a behavioral intervention that targets fall risk behaviors and home hazards for older adults at high risk for falling. The elements of the intervention are:
- A comprehensive assessment of the individual, their behaviors, and the environment;
- A home hazard removal plan;
- Remediation of hazards;
- And a booster session three (3) months after the intervention.
The primary mechanisms for resolving barriers in HARP are minor home repair (e.g., grab bars), adaptive equipment, task modification, and education and self-management strategies to improve awareness of fall risks (to bring awareness of fall hazards).
- Target audience: Older adults at high risk of falling (e.g. has experienced a previous fall, is worried about falling, has a balance or gait impairment)
- Health outcomes:
- Reduced number of falls
- Reduced fall hazards in the home
- Improved ability to manage fall risk
- Delivered by: An occupational therapist
- Program type: individual
- Format: In-person at home
- Length: 1-5 sessions
- Training: Online
- Professional required: Yes
- Accessibility adaptations available: Yes (options available for different abilities)
- Cultural adaptations available: Yes (Adapted for delivery in low income senior housing facilities)
- Available in languages other than English: No
- Topic(s): Falls Prevention
- Program Contact: Susy Stark, OTR/L, PhD
