Inter-Professional Occupational Therapy-Social Work Partnerships to Promote Home Safety and Community Living

5:00pm to 6:00pm

LIVE WEBINAR

Presenter: Beverly P. Horowitz, PhD, LMSW, OTR/L, FAOTA, FGSA

NASW-NYS Members: $10

NASW Other Chapter Member: $15

Non-Members: $20

This workshop is approved for 1.0 continuing education credit hours for licensed social workers, licensed mental health counselors, and licensed marriage and family therapists

Workshop Description

This webinar will address multiple approaches to develop inter-professional community partnerships between occupational therapy and social work. It will address the benefits of health promotion collaborations to promote home safety and reduce fall risks for community living older adults using the freely available Home Safety Self-Assessment Tool (HSSAT) as part of a client-centered community-based health promotion program and within other health and community settings. The HSSAT can be used as a tool to increase older adults’ knowledge about home safety, teach strategies to reduce home fall hazards, teach methods to identify activities that pose risks, and enable older adults to develop Action Plans to reduce self-identified fall hazards. Participants will learn how occupational therapy-social work partnerships can support the community living needs of older adults, including the role senior centers can play in community health promotion fall prevention initiatives and when referral for occupational therapy is indicated. Participants will also learn how to establish home safety health promotion programs utilizing the HSSAT; how to utilize the HSSAT within health care settings for family consultation and discharge planning; how to utilize the HSSAT in home health care; and the various benefits of occupational therapy assessment to improve home safety, reduce fall risks, and maximize functional abilities.

This webinar will also provide participants with evidence in support of inter-professional health promotion fall prevention programs, including research by Horowitz, Almonte, and Vasil (2016), Use of the Home Safety Self-Assessment Tool (HSSAT) Within Community Health Education to Improve Home Safety. This study found significant differences on pre and post tests for older adult participants’ reported knowledge of home safety, ability to recognize unsafe activities, safely perform activities, and develop a safety plan. Focus group findings identified home safety as a social work major concern and the HSSAT a promising assessment tool to home safety for community living of older adults. 

Learning Objectives

After the completion of this webinar, participants will be able to:

• Collaborate with occupational therapists and older adults to conduct home safety assessments using the Home Safety Self-Assessment Tool.
• Collaborate with occupational therapists and clients to reduce environmental hazards and home fall risks.
• Understand how occupational therapy-social work partnerships can improve home safety and support community living for older adults.

This workshop is approved for 1.0 continuing education credit hours.

NASW-NYS is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers (Provider ID #0014), licensed mental health counselors (Provider ID #MHC-0053), and licensed marriage and family therapists. (Provider ID #MFT-0037)

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Presenter:

Beverly Horowitz PhD, LMSW, OTR/L, FAOTA, FGSA is a Stony Brook University alumnus, has a Master’s degree in Occupational Therapy from Columbia University, and doctorate from Fordham University’s Graduate School of Social Service, with a Concentration in Gerontology. Dr Horowitz is the owner of Care Specialists: Supporting Aging with Dignity and is Associate Professor at York College-CUNY. She is a NYS licensed social worker and occupational therapist, certified social work case manager and an occupational therapy educator and researcher with clinical experience in rehabilitation medicine, long-term care, home health, and community practice. Dr. Horowitz’s research has addressed gerontology practice, home safety and fall prevention, ageism, rehabilitation, cultural competence, occupational therapy education and practice, and workforce issues across disciplines.