Falls Improvement Program in Aged Care and Disability Services: A Multifaceted Approach to Falls Prevention and Management
Andrea King 1Brightwater Care Group, INGLEWOOD, WA, Australia2Meaningful Ageing Australia, Melbourne, Vic, Australia
Abstract
Falls are a prevalent and high-risk clinical incident among older adults in the community, residential aged care, and disability sectors. In Western Australia in 2020, 69% of all ambulance attendances for falls were for people over 70 years old, and half of falls related hospitalisations came from home or residential aged care.
A Falls Improvement Program (FIP) was introduced in a large Aged Care and Disability “Not for Profit” organisation to improve falls prevention and management.
Led by a Senior Physiotherapist, the FIP aimed to implement evidence-based strategies to reduce fall rates and improve outcomes for clients. Allied health professionals and assistants were instrumental in driving the uptake and rollout of new processes and strategies under the centralised leadership of the FIP. The FIP implemented specific interventions such as exercise programs, nutrition/hydration, better clinical analysis of falls, and individualised falls prevention equipment prescription.
The FIP also established an organisation-wide community of practice, invested in networking to understand best practice, and explored research opportunities, including innovative technology such as artificial intelligence. Over the first 12 months, fall rates were reduced by up to 28% in some of the services.
This FIP demonstrates that falls prevention and management require a multifaceted approach with a focus on evidence-based interventions and a community of practice to drive change. The FIP has expanded the horizons of not just the Allied Health team but the wider team who care for and support clients in an increasingly complex setting. The success of the FIP highlights the importance of a collaborative and coordinated approach to falls prevention and management in the aged care and disability sectors.
Biography
Andrea King (BAppSc Physio(LaTrobe Uni.), Masters of Neurological Physiotherapy (Uni. Melb), MACHSM) is a Physiotherapist and Allied Health leader, with extensive clinical experience in neurological rehabilitation and late effects of disability in the tertiary health setting across Victoria and Western Australia, and extensive Allied Health leadership in both tertiary health and community sectors. She now passionately leads a large Allied Health workforce at Brightwater Care Group in Perth, WA., with a vision to ensure Allied Health are at the forefront in the improvement of health and wellbeing to our population living and ageing with disability.