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Stroll Safe

Stroll Safe Program

by Tracy Chippendale, PhD, OTR/L, Associate Professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy

Two older adults walking on a city sidewalk.

Thank you for your interest in the Stroll Safe outdoor falls prevention program!

Stroll Safe is a 7-week group-based outdoor falls prevention program that focuses on behavioral change through education and training in safe community mobility. The program is designed for community-dwelling older adults and includes information sharing, group discussion and problem solving, self-advocacy, action planning, a community mobility practice session, and a neighborhood audit using the Stakeholders’ Walkability/Wheelability Audit in Neighborhood (SWAN) tool.

Results of a randomized controlled trial showed an improvement in knowledge of outdoor fall risks and an increase in safe strategy use among Stroll Safe program participants (Chippendale et al., 2022).

If you are a licensed occupational therapist and wish to access the Stroll Safe program manual and training materials, please complete a brief inquiry form. Please note that a terms of use agreement will also be required to gain access to the materials.

Interested in learning more about the Stroll Safe program?

Submit an Inquiry Form to Learn More

Please use the following references for the Stroll Safe program and SWAN tool:

Chippendale, T., Albert, S. M., & Mahmood, A. (2022). Efficacy of the Stroll Safe outdoor fall prevention program: A randomized controlled trial. The Gerontologist, Early online. doi: 10.1093/geront/gnac145

Mahmood, A., O’Dea, E., Bigonnesse, C., Labbe, D., Mahal, T., Qureshi, M….Mortenson, W. B. (2020). Stakeholders Walkability/Wheelability Audit in Neighborhoods (SWAN): User-led audit and photographic documentation in Canada. Disability & Society, 35 (6), 902-925. https://doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2019.164912

For additional information about the SWAN tool, please contact Dr. Atiya Mahmood: amahmood@sfu.ca