Ageing and the prevention of falls and injuries: A study for NSW Health

Abstract

The age cohort 65 and over is known as a high risk cohort when it comes to falls and injury. Nationally it is estimate that approximately 30% of persons in the 65+ cohort living in the community fall at least once per year. According to data for NSW, the figure is lower at 25%, however the statistical basis for these findings is now over a decade old. In 1997, research into the impact of falls in older persons proposed that up to 42% of hospital stays across Australia could be attributed to falls in the aged. For adults over the age of 70 years falls are the most common cause of injury (49%). Among adults aged 85 years and over, falls related injuries are leading cause of hip and neck fracture, with fewer than 30% returning to their "pre-fracture levels of independence with mobility and activities of daily living". In 2005, the Hon. Federal Minister for Ageing Julie Bishop, noted that falls and injuries were the cause of about 1,000 deaths each year. A further 55,000 older Australians required hospitalisation as the result of falls.