Background and Purpose. Instead of relying exclusively on traditional lecture classes, instruction known as “flipped classrooms” provides students a more interactive learning environment. In a flipped classroom, students are required to listen to prepared prerecorded course content before they come to class. Rather than homework following a lecture, students complete assignments in the classroom on concepts specifically drawn from the lecture. Flipped classrooms are gaining more popularity; however, quantitative studies on their ability to improve learning are lacking. Case Description. This is a retrospective review over 3 consecutive years that describe outcomes of three teaching methods within one unit of an entry-level physical therapy course. Examination scores from a traditional lecture (TRAD) classroom (n = 44), a partially flipped (pFLIP) (n = 49), and a fully integrated flipped (full FLIP) classroom (n = 50) were compared. Outcomes. Students receiving instruction in a full FLIP classroom demonstrated the greatest improvements from examination 1 to examination 2. The pFLIP cohort demonstrated statistically significant lower scores compared to full FLIP cohort on examination 2. Discussion and Conclusion. The TRAD class received in-class lectures with homework, whereas the pFLIP cohort received in-class question and discussion of content, while the full FLIP cohort received intentional in-class work. A full FLIP classroom requires active participation by students, and in doing so, it simultaneously provides an enhanced opportunity to apply new content to contextualize new information with prior knowledge to solve problems. This opportunity to apply content along with the availability of the instructor to provide feedback in real time may have led to greater understanding of the course material.

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BackgroundFall-related deaths continue to be the leading cause of accidental deaths in the older adult (65+ year) population. However, many fall-related fatalities are unspecified and little is known about the fall characteristics and personal demographics at the time of the fall. Therefore, this report describes the characteristics, circumstances and injuries of falls that resulted in older adult deaths in one U.S. County and explores the variables associated with fatal injuries from falls.MethodsThis is a continued retrospective analysis of 841older adults whose underlying cause of death was due to a fall over an 8-year period (2005–2012). Demographics and logistic regression of fall characteristics and injuries were analyzed.ResultsFalls that led to death most often occurred when walking in one’s own home. Most of the residents in this study were community-dwellers who had previous comorbidities taking an average of six medications prior to their fall. Survival after a fall was on average 31 days. The two most common injuries after a fatal fall were hip fractures (54%), and head injuries (21%). A logistic regression identified two variables associated with hip fracture, advancing age (OR = 1.05, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.02–1.08) and diagnosis of a prior neurological condition (OR = 2.1, 95% CI = 1.4–3.1). Variables associated with head injuries included younger age (OR = .91, 95% CI = .89–.94), male gender (OR = 2.5, 95% CI = 1.7–3.8), prescribed anticoagulants (OR = 2.4, 95% CI = 1.5–3.9) and negative musculoskeletal comorbidity (OR = 1.9. 95% CI = 1.1–3.0).ConclusionHip fractures and head injuries were the most common injury after a fall that led to death in older adults greater than 65 years. There are opposing risk factors for older adults who incur a hip fracture compared to a head injury. Thus, health professionals will need to individualize prevention efforts to reduce fall fatalities.

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