April Falls Month is an annual campaign to raise awareness about the impact of falls and to promote the latest best practice fall prevention strategies.
This year, the Let’s Talk About Falls — Staying Safe Starts with a Chat campaign aims to break the stigma around talking about falls to help Australians access appropriate care and begin early interventions. Talking about falls isn’t about taking away independence; it’s about protecting it. Falls don’t just happen. When you notice signs that an older person may be at risk, such as holding onto furniture when walking or showing possible indicators of a recent fall like bruising, start the conversation. A simple chat can help people make small, practical changes or receive the support needed to keep them independent, safe and steady on their feet.
Some signs you can look out for include:
– Unsteadiness
– Signs of feeling unwell or bruising
– Holding onto furniture while moving about
– Confusion
Fall-related statistics for people over 65 in NSW:
– 37% of injury-related deaths caused by falls
– 30% of over 65s fall each year
– 23% reduction in falls with regular exercise
The issue of falls: Falls are the leading cause of injury-related deaths in Australia. Each year, around 200,000 falls are severe enough to require hospitalisation. In 2016, the annual estimated recurrent health service expenditure on falls was about $3.9 billion nationally. This is expected to increase markedly with the number of people aged 65 years and over projected to nearly double by 2042. Effective fall prevention programs are required in order to reduce falls and injurious fall rates to lessen the burden on the health system.
Risk factors for falls: While falls can occur throughout life they become more common and consequential as people age. In Australia, 30% of adults aged 65 and over will experience at least one fall a year. Fall risk is multifactorial and linked to changes in physical and sensory function, the use of certain medications and medical conditions. The good news is many of these risk factors are modifiable.
Falls can be prevented: Exercise has been shown to reduce the number of falls over time by around 23%. High challenge balance exercises of sufficient dose can increase the effect of exercise, to up to 40%. Multicomponent and multifactorial interventions that include education, home safety modifications, foot health, strength and balance exercises, vision screenings and medication reviews have also been shown to be effective at reducing falls.
The NSW Fall Prevention and Health Ageing Network works collaboratively with healthcare and community providers to provide the latest evidence and best practice information for falls and fall-related injury within the broader scope of healthy ageing.
For more information go to: https://fallsnetwork.neura.edu.au/
Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA)
NSW Fall Prevention and Healthy Ageing Network
Funded by the NSW Government
