Community-based health efforts for the prevention of falls in the elderly

Abstract

Alan Hanley1, Carmel Silke2, John Murphy31Department of Medicine, Letterkenny General Hospital, Letterkenny, Co Donegal, Ireland; 2Department of Rheumatology, Our Lady's Hospital Manorhamilton, Manorhamilton, Co Leitrim, Ireland; 3Department of Medicine, Castlebar, Co Mayo, IrelandAbstract: Falls are a major public health problem in the elderly population. The associated health care cost is great. It has therefore become an important public health matter to evaluate those interventions that might be effective in reducing the risk of falls. Risk factors that predict an increased risk of falling are described. We discuss interventions that can be employed in the community to reduce the risk of falls and associated injuries by discipline, including physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and physician-led interventions. We also discuss the cost-effectiveness of such interventions.Keywords: fall, fracture, prevention, public health

Keywords

• falls
• fractures
• risk
• prevention
• physiotherapy
• occupational therapy
• osteoporosis