Perspectives: How to Apply Motivational Interviewing for Older Adult Fall Prevention

More than one in three adults age ≥65 fall each year, and fall-related deaths are increasing in the United States. Falls risks can be reduced when older adults are able to engage in series of behavior changes to reduce their high fall risk factors. However, older adults perceive their fall risks to be lower than clinically indicated and adherence rates for fall prevention recommendations are suboptimal. Motivational interviewing (MI), a validated patient-centered behavior change communication approach, is ideal for addressing these gaps and facilitating older adults’ engagement in fall prevention. The goal of this paper is to present practical tips to apply MI for fall prevention for clinicians who may not be familiar with MI. We draw on our experience from providing MI sessions to high fall risk older adults within a randomized controlled trial. We describe how we delivered MI sessions and practical lessons learned from this experience. We present how basic MI skills can be used for fall prevention using a case study, how an older adult may move through Stages of Change for fall prevention, and how to address strongly held beliefs about fall prevention.