Effective falls prevention in aged care
Australian and international researchers have revealed that devastating falls in residential aged care homes could be prevented by using gold standard approaches of regular exercise and a personalised falls prevention plan.
Two new research papers published by Centre of Research Excellence—Prevention of Fall-related Injuries and Flinders University researchers Dr Suzanne Dyer and Dr Jenni Suen in the journal Age and Ageing provide guidance on successfully reducing falls for residents in aged care facilities.
Each paper is a systematic review and meta- analysis of trial data looking at exercise for falls prevention (Dyer et al 2023) and multifactorial interventions for falls reduction (Suen et al 2023).
The research suggests that both regular, ongoing exercise and an individualised falls prevention plan based on the individual needs of residents can significantly reduce the likelihood of a fall.
The research has been used to inform the updated Australian falls prevention guidelines, which are currently open for consultation.
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