Disability can enter our life at any point — through accident, illness and age. In some cases, the causes of disability can be prevented. In order to improve the state's effectiveness in helping to prevent the causes of disability, the Ohio Access cabinet will:
- Create a fetal alcohol syndrome prevention initiative;
- Pilot community projects focused on prevention; and
- Expand early intervention for children.
E.1 Create a Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Prevention Initiative
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is considered the largest known cause of mental retardation and the most preventable birth defect. However, many Ohioans are not aware of the birth defect risks associated with alcohol consumption during pregnancy. ODADAS, ODH, and ODMR/DD are collaborating through the Ohio Family and Children First Initiative to organize a conference to develop a statewide educational campaign to prevent FAS. The objective of the campaign is to reduce the number of children born with FAS.
| E.1.1 | ODADAS will coordinate Ohio Access agencies and others to organize a September 2004 conference to develop a statewide educational campaign to prevent FAS. |
| E.1.2 | ODADAS will coordinate with Ohio Access agencies and others to implement a statewide educational campaign to prevent FAS during SFY 2006. |
E.2 Pilot Community Projects Focused on Prevention
Prevention is universally hailed as a positive endeavor, but frequently pursued without focus or evaluation and, consequently, without results. ODH is developing a more focused approach to prioritize prevention strategies toward the causes of disability — illnesses and injuries that severely impair a person's ability to fully participate in community life and significantly add to the cost of public health care systems. The Ohio Access cabinet will pilot community programs to:
- Prevent falls;
- Prevent traumatic brain injury; and
- Prevent stroke.
Prevent Falls
As many as one out of three seniors in a community setting falls each year. Among people age 64 and older, falls are the leading cause of injury death, and the most common cause of non-fatal injuries and hospital admissions for trauma. Research indicates that reducing the risk factors associated with falls can significantly reduce the likelihood of a person actually falling. Effective programs include assessment of risk by health care providers, review of medications, exercise programs, behavioral recommendations, and environmental modifications.
| E.2.1 | ODH will adopt a standardized fall risk assessment in SFY 2004 to be used by health care providers, and provide continuing education courses beginning in SFY 2005 for physician and other health care professionals that include fall guidelines and information about referring at-risk seniors to effective fall prevention programs. |
| E.2.2 | ODH will work with the Ohio Department of Insurance in SFY 2005 to encourage insurance companies to cover prevention programs and services for falls. |
| E.2.3 | ODH will provide education and fall prevention services to older citizens and their caregivers through ODA and the Area Agencies on Aging. |
Prevent Traumatic Brain Injury
Approximately 60,500 Ohioans suffer from traumatic brain injury (TBI) as a result of accidents and injuries. Falls account for nearly 70 percent of all traumatic brain injury among people age 45 and older. Individuals between age 14-24 and age 75 and older are significantly more at risk for traumatic brain injury than the population generally.
| E.2.4 | ODH will work with Ohio Access agencies during SFY 2005 to develop a tracking system that links various data sets to increase understanding of the risk factors and magnitude of traumatic brain injury, develop a comprehensive state policy on decreasing the risk factors associated with traumatic brain injury, and implement a statewide program to raise awareness of traumatic brain injury and associated risk factors in SFY 2006. |
| E.2.5 | ODH will work with the Ohio Department of Insurance in SFY 2005 to encourage insurance companies to cover prevention and services for traumatic brain injury. |
| E.2.6 | ODH will collaborate with hospitals, professional associations and universities to provide training for health care providers relative to the risk factors and prevention strategies. |
Prevent Strokes
Stroke is the third leading cause of death in Ohio and the leading cause of serious long-term disability. Significant, treatable conditions linked to stroke are high blood pressure and cigarette smoking. Programs aimed at reducing the incidence of stroke often focus on these two conditions and include broad-based public awareness programs directed toward the general public addressing the importance of blood pressure health.
| E.2.7 | ODH will identify effective media messages to increase awareness in the general public about the need to control risk factors for stroke, coordinate a broad-based public awareness program regarding blood pressure, and support educational and informational initiatives for health care practitioners in training and in practice. |
| E.2.8 | ODH and the Tobacco Use Prevention and Control Foundation will continue current initiatives to reduce smoking. |
| E.2.9 | ODMR/DD will provide alerts to help people prevent and reduce the possibility of serious incidents from occurring. These alerts include topics such as feeding tubes, pneumonia, and seizure triggers. |
E.3 Expand Early Intervention for Children
Ohio's Help Me Grow program is designed to identify children at the earliest possible age who may have a developmental delay or disability, and to connect families to appropriate services and supports. Help Me Grow served approximately 8,000 infants and toddlers with developmental disabilities in 2002. Less than 20 percent of those children were under age one, indicating an opportunity to improve the program to reach more children earlier.
ODH, Education, ODJFS, ODMR/DD and ODMH are collaborating through the Ohio Family and Children First Initiative to increase the Help Me Grow program's capacity to reach children earlier. This effort is designed to assist local communities in developing child find approaches in cooperation with health care and child care providers, and improve parent and public education strategies to identify more infants with developmental disabilities before age one.
In addition, state agencies will seek input and support from the Ohio Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Family Practice Association and the Ohio Child Care Resource and Referral Association.
| E.3.1 | ODH will work with other Ohio Access agencies to assemble a workgroup that includes counties and others (Academy of Pediatrics, etc.) to develop strategies that will identify infants with developmental disabilities earlier and connect them to appropriate services. |
| E.3.2 | ODH will implement "Child Find" strategies in urban counties in SFY 2005 and statewide during SFY 2006-2007. |