Why the Otago Exercise Program?
- The Otago Exercise Program (OEP) consists of 17 strength and balance exercises and a walking program, performed three times a week by the older adult in the home, outpatient, or community setting.
- Exercises can be done individually or in a group setting. Studies demonstrate that OEP participants experience a 35 – 40% reduction in falls. The program is most effective for frail older adults, as defined by older adults over the age of 80 years, older adults who have fallen in the past year, and older adults with chronic disease management.
- A Session 0 day occurs to complete physical assessments, this allows the PT/OT to determine the participants fall risk level and choose the most appropriate exercises.
- The goal is to integrate five (5) Otago-focused sessions into the patient’s POC over an 8 week time period. In addition, patients are educated and encouraged to perform the exercises on their own at home for a total of exercises 3x per week.
- Ideally there is a 6 month follow up after discharge (either pre-scheduled visit or a phone call); however due to difficulty with this we have created a virtual maintenance Otago workshop that patients can be referred to upon completion of their in-person workshop.
Please read here if you are looking to implement the Otago Exercise Program within a clinical setting (ie: 1:1 within a PT/OT outpatient or homecare setting):
Considerations for implementing OEP within a 1:1/clinical setting:
-
- A PT/OT must complete the initial session 0 assessments
- The subsequent follow-up sessions may be completed by a PTA/COTA
- Consider how scheduling of OEP patients would occur in your clinic
- Consider how the data collection piece will fit into the clinicians day
Please read here if you are looking to implement the Otago Exercise Program in a group setting:
Considerations for implementing OEP within a community/group setting:
-
- A PT/OT must complete the initial session 0 assessments and help to pick the most appropriate exercises for the group
- At least (2) class facilitators are required for a class of up to 10 participants
- For community-dwelling older adults class should be 1x per week, and participants should do the exercises on their own an additional 2x
- For older adults who reside in an ALF or LTC class may need to be 3x per week if participants cannot safely stand and do the exercises on their own independently
OEP Training:
- The OEP training from Stony Brook Medicine is a 1.5-2 hour long virtual module that can be completed at your convenience.
- Stony Brook Medicine is the recipient of the 2022-2025 Empowering Communities to Deliver and Sustain Evidence-Based Falls Prevention Programs grant, administered by the Administration for Community Living. With this funding, we are able to pay for your training to become an Otago-certified trainer. In return, we require submission of participant data to us on a regular basis to support our grant reporting and enable us to support you and the older adults you serve.