FALLS IN OLDER ADULTS: IMPLEMENTING EVIDENCE-BASED GUIDELINESIN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES, SOCIOECONOMIC AND CULTURAL CONTEXTS

Melanie Hayley, Monica Rodrigues Perracini, Cathie Sherrington
Session outline:

Falls affect 30% of older adults annually, often resulting in serious injury or death. They are the second leading cause of unintentional injury deaths worldwide, with 80% of these fatalities occurring in low and middle-income countries. Physiotherapists can significantly reduce fall risk through exercise-based prevention programs, which decrease the number of falls by 23%. Despite the proven benefits, implementing evidence-based recommendations remains challenging. Understanding barriers and contextual factors is essential for effective fall prevention.

This session will detail the development and content of the World Guidelines for Falls Prevention and Management for Older Adults, emphasising recommendations pertinent to physiotherapists. It will include a gap analysis and implementation review of the World Guidelines within an Australian public health context, highlighting the barriers and enablers to adherence in a high-income country. The session will also examine the applicability of the World Guidelines to low and middle-income countries, specifically Nigeria and Brazil, and describe the unique challenges and facilitators in these regions.

This symposium aims to address the practical implementation of falls prevention guidelines across various settings and countries, providing physiotherapists with strategies to overcome barriers and enhance adherence to evidence-based practices. We will identify and discuss opportunities for physiotherapists to integrate the World Guidelines into their practice, tailored to local contexts.


Diversity:

This seminar includes presenters from three countries and is inclusive of lower-middle income country presenters. This seminar also includes a mixture of academic and clinical physiotherapists.

Learning objective 1:
Describe recommendations and strategies for physiotherapists to implement the World Guidelines for Falls Prevention and Management for Older Adults as they apply to different countries, socioeconomic and cultural contexts
Learning objective 2:
Develop strategies to implement these World Guidelines recommendations within your local context.
Learning objective 3:
N/A
Bursary programme:
Yes
Approval:
yes
Attendance:
yes
Specialty group(s) contributing to this proposal:
["International Association of Physical Therapists working with Older People","International Association of Physiotherapists working with Older People"]
Primary topic:
Older people
Second topic:
Health promotion and wellbeing/healthy ageing/physical activity
Third topic:
Globalisation: health systems, policies and strategies
References/resources:

1. Montero-Odasso, M., van der Velde, N., Martin, F. C., Petrovic, M., Tan, M. P., Ryg, J.,

Aguilar-Navarro, S., Alexander, N. B., Becker, C., Blain, H., Bourke, R., Cameron, I.

D., Camicioli, R., Clemson, L., Close, J., Delbaere, K., Duan, L., Duque, G., Dyer, S. M.,

Freiberger, E., … Task Force on Global Guidelines for Falls in Older Adults (2022). World

guidelines for falls prevention and management for older adults: a global initiative. Age and

ageing, 51(9), afac205. https://doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afac205 

2. Sherrington, C., Fairhall, N. J., Wallbank, G. K., Tiedemann, A., Michaleff, Z. A., Howard, K.,

Clemson, L., Hopewell, S., & Lamb, S. E. (2019). Exercise for preventing falls in older people

living in the community. The Cochrane database of systematic reviews, 1(1),

CD012424. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD012424.pub2  

3. World Health Organization Fact Sheet (Falls): www.who.int/news-room/factsheets/detail/falls

Accessed 7/3/2024



Funding acknowledgements:
Cathie Sherrington is supported by an Australian National Health and Medical Research Council Investigator Grant
Terms and conditions:
yes

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