One Size Doesn’t Fit All! Reaching Older Adults with Prevention Messages

By Meri K. Appy
July 2004

According to the Home Safety Council’s State of Home Safety in America Report™, 2004 Edition, older adults have the highest rate of deaths from unintentional home injury in the U.S. Specifically, people 80 years old and older have a home injury death rate 20 times higher than those who are younger.

Falls are the leading cause of nonfatal home injuries among older populations and the leading cause of home injury death for people age 65 and older. Fire and burns also wreak havoc in this age group, and the rates of these fatal injuries are highest among older adults.

You know why you need to reach older adults with fire, burn and fall prevention messages, but do you know how to reach them effectively?

To be successful, outreach efforts must specifically and intentionally target older adults. One size doesn’t fit all. You will likely need to modify your existing materials to ensure they are relevant and meaningful for this audience.

Keep these points in mind as you put together your program:

• Work with local senior advocacy groups for guidance and cooperation both in development of materials and in your ability to deliver the materials to your audience.
• Use positive visual reinforcement of safety messages when you can, incorporating both video and printed images.
• If you use text materials, choose large type in a plain font (minimum 12-14 pt.); double-space the content, and incorporate a lot of white space and relevant graphics.

Finally, be respectful of your audience. Nothing turns people off faster than when someone “talks down” to us. Present the information in a compelling way, without lecturing, and avoid ageist stereotypes and labels.

As with all public education programs, keep reading levels in mind when you prepare written materials. According to ProLiteracy Worldwide, one in five adults in the U.S. functions at the lowest literacy levels. To maximize your reach, prepare materials that contain a mix of text and supporting images, and keep the content at a 4th grade to 7th grade reading level.

Team Up for Success

Reach out to local advocacy groups working with elder populations. If you don’t know with whom to work in your community, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration on Aging offers a national, online Eldercare Locator and toll-free number (1-800-677-1116) to help you identify local organizations that advocate for the health and well-being of older adults. These groups are valuable partners in your injury prevention outreach efforts.

Contact local student and youth groups to coordinate a team to help you launch an ongoing program to reach out to older residents in your community. As an incentive for student involvement in your effort, work with schools to provide extra credit for those who participate.

Here are some services your program might offer:

• Provide smoke alarm testing and battery replacement for homes that need them. Obtain a supply of smoke alarms to install in homes that lack every-level protection.
• Offer to paint house numbers on the curbs in front of homes.
• Hand out fire escape planning materials to each home you visit. Download free materials
• Offer to replace double-keyed door locks with conventional deadbolt locks and provide retrofit resources for those residents with security bars that aren’t equipped with quick-release devices.
• Test hot water at the taps and when necessary, help the resident arrange to have the water heater temperature lowered to no higher than 120F.
• Host a Hazardous Materials Clean-Up Day – Collect unwanted flammable and combustible household cleaning and improvement products and containers and dispose of them for the residents.

Be sure to publicize your program with local media, retirement communities, neighborhood groups and senior centers so they know it’s available.

For more information, download and print out the large-text safety information in the Older Adult section of the Home Safety Council’s Safety Guide