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Falls in rural and remote community dwelling older adults: A review of the literature
Author(s) -
Boehm Jackie,
Franklin Richard C.,
King Jemma C.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
australian journal of rural health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.48
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1440-1584
pISSN - 1038-5282
DOI - 10.1111/ajr.12114
Subject(s) - psychological intervention , medicine , scopus , rural area , epidemiology , gerontology , poison control , occupational safety and health , suicide prevention , injury prevention , medline , health promotion , environmental health , public health , nursing , political science , pathology , law
Objective Falls in older adults represent a significant challenge in A ustralia; however, the focus is often on urban‐dwelling older adults. The aim of this review was to explore the literature on falls epidemiology and falls prevention interventions ( FPI ).Design A literature review was conducted searching M edline, S copus, S ocial S ciences C itation I ndex, G oogle S cholar, G oogle and the A ustralian I nstitute of H ealth and W elfare publication catalogue. Setting Rural and remote Australia. Participants Rural and remote community dwelling Australians aged 50 years and older. Intervention Literature review.Main outcome measures Falls epidemiology and effective falls prevention interventions. Results Twenty references were identified: 14 related to falls epidemiology and 7 to FPI . No significant differences were found between rural, remote and major cities residents in relation to falls hospitalisation, falls mortality or fall‐related injuries sustained. There are a wide assortment of health professionals and non‐health professionals who are involved in providing FPI in rural and remote A ustralia. However, there was limited information on the effectiveness of these interventions in influencing falls outcomes. Conclusion Few studies explored falls and their prevention in rural and remote A ustralia. The limited literature on the topic suggests that a change in focus to one that utilises existing services and resources will be required to create sustainable outcomes. Four areas are proposed for concentrated effort to reduce the impact of fall‐related injury in rural and remote A ustralia: integration and collaboration among health professionals, promotion of physical activity across the lifespan, community involvement and ownership of interventions, and evaluation and publication of findings.