Let's reflect on the fall

Working With Older People, 2002

from the University of Surrey, reviewed a range of studies aimed at reducing falls, from overseas and the UK. This article is written by them from their report published in November 2001 by the Department of Trade and Industry, International review of interventions in falls among older people. It forms part of the Department of Trade and Industry's campaign to reduce falls in older people, Avoiding slips, trips and broken hips, which began in 1999. Tackling falls-current policy Reducing falls has been an important part of public policy for at least a decade. Targets set under the 1999 public health White Paper, Saving lives: Our Healthier Nation (Cmnd. 4386, 1999), aim to reduce the death rate by at least one-fifth, and the rates of serious injury by at least one-tenth by 2010.

2008

Falls can have a devastating effect on independence, confidence, and quality of life ▀ Multicomponent assessment of falls risk for individuals is essential to identify the appropriate targeted interventions ▀ Group and home-based exercise programmes, and home safety interventions reduce rate of falls and risk of falling ▀ To improve implementation, beliefs and behaviours at individual, organisational and societal levels need to be addressed ▀ Consultation with older people is essential to ascertain what changes they are prepared to make to reduce their fall risk ▀ Active training and support of health professionals is needed to implement falls prevention programmes in practice

Australian Health Review, 1999

Falls are a common and serious health problem. Responses to the problem should address the individual, the individual's environment, the system of health or residential care used by the individual, and the local community. This article describes a response to the issue of falls in Ryde Hospital and its surrounding community. This response has multiple components which include patient and staff education and interventions with people who have fallen. These initiatives have been developed without additional resources and incorporated into existing systems of care provision.

Preventing falls and fall-related injuries among older people is an urgent public health challenge. This paper provides an overview of the background to and research planned for a 5-year National Health and Medical Research Council Partnership Grant on implementing falls prevention research findings into policy and practice. This program represents a partnership between key Australian falls prevention researchers, policy makers and information technology companies which aims to: (1) fill gaps in evidence relating to the prevention of falls in older people, involving new research studies of risk factor assessment and interventions for falls prevention;

Injury Prevention, 2020

BackgroundFalls can lead to severe health loss including death. Past research has shown that falls are an important cause of death and disability worldwide. The Global Burden of Disease Study 2017 (GBD 2017) provides a comprehensive assessment of morbidity and mortality from falls.MethodsEstimates for mortality, years of life lost (YLLs), incidence, prevalence, years lived with disability (YLDs) and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) were produced for 195 countries and territories from 1990 to 2017 for all ages using the GBD 2017 framework. Distributions of the bodily injury (eg, hip fracture) were estimated using hospital records.ResultsGlobally, the age-standardised incidence of falls was 2238 (1990–2532) per 100 000 in 2017, representing a decline of 3.7% (7.4 to 0.3) from 1990 to 2017. Age-standardised prevalence was 5186 (4622–5849) per 100 000 in 2017, representing a decline of 6.5% (7.6 to 5.4) from 1990 to 2017. Age-standardised mortality rate was 9.2 (8.5–9.8) per 100 0...

New South Wales Public Health Bulletin, 2011

Aim: To describe the prevalence, circumstances and consequences of falls among community-dwelling older people in NSW using data from the 2009 NSW Falls Prevention Baseline Survey. Methods: Telephone interviews with a random sample of 5681 NSW residents aged 65 years and over were conducted in 2009. Results: Of those surveyed, 25.6% reported falling in the last year. Of those who fell, 61.2% fell once, 21.4% fell twice, 7.8% fell three times, and 9.5% fell four or more times in the last year. Sixty-six percent of those who fell in the last year were injured and 20.0% visited a hospital as a result of a fall. The most common injuries were cuts, grazes or bruises (71.0%) and sprains or strains (9.9%). Conclusion: The findings of this survey are consistent with previous findings in the published fall injury prevention literature. The results from the survey will assist in the design of community oriented fall injury prevention strategies and will form the baseline measure for the evaluation of the impact of these strategies in NSW.

BMC Public Health, 2017

Background: Fall related injury is an emerging issue for older Indigenous people worldwide, yet few targeted fall prevention programs are currently available for Indigenous populations. In order to inform the development of a new Aboriginal-specific fall prevention program in Australia, we conducted community consultation with older Aboriginal people to identify perceptions and beliefs about falls, and to identify desired program elements. Methods: Yarning Circles were held with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 45 years and over. Each Yarning Circle was facilitated by an Aboriginal researcher who incorporated six indicative questions into each discussion. Questions explored the impact of falls on Yarning Circle participants, their current use of fall prevention services and investigated Yarning Circle participant's preferences regarding the design and mode of delivery of a fall prevention program. Results: A total of 76 older Aboriginal people participated in ten Yarning Circles across six sites in the state of New South Wales. Participants associated falls with physical disability, a loss of emotional well-being and loss of connection to family and community. Many participants did not use existing fall prevention services due to a lack of availability in their area, having no referral provided by their GP and/or being unaware of fall prevention programs in general. Program elements identified as important by participants were that it be Aboriginal-specific, group-based, and ongoing , with the flexibility to be tailored to specific communities, with free transport provided to and from the program. Conclusions: Older Aboriginal people reported falls to be a priority health issue, with a significant impact on their health and well-being. Few older Aboriginal people accessed prevention programs, suggesting there is an important need for targeted Aboriginal-specific programs. A number of important program elements were identified which if incorporated into prevention programs, may help to address the rising burden of falls.

Age and Ageing, 2001

2008

Falls are a high-volume, high-cost problem in health care. This article presents three successful patient safety fall prevention projects completed within the Department of Veterans Affairs Healthcare Administration (VHA): the National Falls Collaborative ...