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Falls prevention research in residential aged care is itself tripped up by medical clearance issues
Author(s) -
Hewitt Jennifer,
Refshauge Kathryn,
Henwood Timothy,
Goodall Stephen,
Clemson Lindy
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
australasian journal on ageing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.63
H-Index - 34
eISSN - 1741-6612
pISSN - 1440-6381
DOI - 10.1111/ajag.12068
Subject(s) - aged care , library science , health care , research centre , sociology , medicine , management , gerontology , political science , computer science , law , economics
Australia’s residential aged care (RAC) population is projected to more than treble by 2050 [1]. This increase will have significant implications for health-care expenditure [2]. Falls in older adults are common, and are a major cause of morbidity and mortality, in RAC, 60% of residents will fall each year, many will fall more than once [3]. There is compelling evidence that exercise, and specifically resistance and weightbearing exercise programs can prevent falls in older adults [4–7]. While most trials have considered communitydwelling older people, research for exercise intervention in RAC has returned inconsistent data [5,8]. Current clinical practice guidelines suggest that there is insufficient evidence to recommend for or against the use of exercise programs in RAC and further research is recommended [6,8].