Transcript Nova Scotia Falls Prevention Update

Nova Scotia Falls
Prevention Update
Preventing Falls Together Conference
October 29, 2009
Suzanne Baker
The leading causes of falls
are preventable with a
coordinated prevention effort.
Seniors’ Falls Facts
• 33% of community dwelling seniors fall yearly
– 50% of falls result in minor injury
– 5-25% result in serious injury
• Seniors have 9X more falls injuries compared to
those at younger ages
• Falls: the most common cause of injury for
seniors
More Seniors’ Falls Facts
• Falls cause > 90% of hip fractures;
• 15-20% of those with hip fractures will die
• 50% of all nursing home admissions
• Falls: leading cause of injury hospital
admissions and ER visits
Fall Injuries:
the Surface
Deaths
Hospitalizations
Emergency Dept
visits
Treated in a
physician’s office
Treated at home or
never treated
6
What causes a fall?
Leadership, Infrastructure &
Partnership
GOAL: Appropriate and adequate leadership, infrastructure, and
partnerships sustain all aspects of the Strategic Framework.
Activities:
• Providing ongoing leadership and support at provincial and DHA
levels (i.e. planning support and advocacy with DHAs, etc)
• Provincial Intersectoral Falls Prevention Committee
• Funding for a part-time position to facilitate coordination among
districts and provide expert advice to province and DHAs
• Funding from HPP for a Tri-District team to participate in the
National Collaborative on Falls in Long-Term Care
• Increased funding for Preventing Falls Together
• Canadian Falls Prevention Curriculum Delivery and Leadership
Home Support Exercise Program
(HSEP)
• Evidence-based physical activity
intervention for frail elderly
• Canadian Centre for Activity and Aging
(University of Western Ontario)
• Specifically designed for implementation
by home support workers
• Proposal (SSH and Continuing Care
supported by Home Support Agencies)
Awareness and Understanding
GOAL: Nova Scotians are aware of the issue of seniors’
falls and fall-related injuries and understand how to
prevent them.
Activities:
• Provided social marketing workshops to Falls Prevention
Coalitions and other partners
• Support for annual falls prevention week (Provincial
Proclamation)
• Ongoing education and meetings with policy makers to
raise issue of falls (DoH and HPP Senior Leadership)
• Interprofessional education (Colleges and Universities)
Education
GOAL: Seniors, care providers, organizations, and
communities have the skills and knowledge to
reduce the risk of falls and fall-related injuries.
Activities:
• Canadian Falls Prevention Curriculum delivery and
leadership (by mid-June, more than 250 people will be
certified in the CFPC)
• Support for Tri-District project
• Funding for Red Cross H.E.L.P. program to incorporate
falls prevention within their initiative
• Preventing Falls Together Toolkit
Canadian Falls Prevention
Curriculum
• The Department of Health Promotion and
Protection, in collaboration with their seniors’
falls prevention partners adopted this curriculum
and training began in February 2008.
• During the course, participants will learn about:
• the nature and scope of seniors’ falls
• the complex causes of falls, the modifiable risk factors, and
how to identify seniors at increased risk of falling
• evidence-based falls risk assessment tools
• best practice falls prevention interventions
• applying a practical program planning model to the design
and implementation of falls prevention initiatives
• evaluating the effectiveness of falls prevention programs
Supportive Environments & Policy
GOAL: Supportive environments are created and
nurtured by healthy public policies that promote
health and reduce the risk of falls and fall-related
injuries.
Activities:
• Canadian Falls Prevention Curriculum delivery and
leadership
• Funding for part-time position to facilitate coordination
among districts and provide expert advice to province
and DHAs
• Strategy for Positive Aging
• Physical Activity and Older Adults
Knowledge Development &
Exchange
GOAL: Community action and the decisions of policy makers are
informed by timely collection, analysis, and dissemination of
data and research on seniors’ falls.
Activities:
• Funding for Dalhousie University and South Shore Health falls
research partnership
• Nova Scotia involved in national initiative to improve collection and
dissemination of seniors’ fall-related data (standardization of
collection tools, definitions, and data reports)
• Collaborator on CIHR Grant Proposal – Canadian Longitudinal
Study on Aging (CLSA)-Injury Team (IT) initiative
• Continue to share and promote the Seniors’ Falls Data Report
• Canadian Falls Prevention Curriculum Delivery and Leadership
Research Initiative
• Partnership between South Shore Health and
Dalhousie University, funded by Health
Promotion and Protection
• Addresses the effectiveness of processes used
in a rural District Health Authority to develop and
implement a complex health initiative, namely
Seniors Falls Prevention.
• Entering the second phase of research, where
3-5 teams taking action on falls will be included
in the study.
Provincial Falls Prevention Network
New Required Organizational
Practices for 2008
• New Goal—Reduce the risk of injuries resulting
from client falls
• New ROP—implement and evaluate a falls
prevention strategy to minimize the impact of
client falls
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–
–
–
–
Falls prevention strategy
Population at risk for falls
Specific needs
Evaluation
Improvements
Potential Required Organizational
Practices for 2011
• Least Restraint Policy
• Home Risk Assessments
Provincial Falls Prevention District
Network
Purpose:
• To provide a forum for the DHA and IWK
acute care facilities to collaborate on the
development and implementation of falls
prevention policies, tools, resources, data
collection, and initiatives.
Scope:
• The focus of the network will be on the
acute care/hospital setting.
Strategy #1
• To establish a network of DHA leaders and
staff to facilitate greater collaboration and
sharing of falls prevention information,
tools, policies and programs among the
districts. The scope of the network
includes the continuum of care.
Strategy #2
• Developing a virtual (web-based) central
forum for the exchange of best practices
and evidence related to falls prevention as
well as ongoing networking and problemsolving.
Strategy #3
• Collaboratively develop and recommend
standardized evidence based policies,
data collection processes, risk assessment
and intervention tools for the DHA.
Strategy #4
• Developing guidelines for evaluating
existing and future tools, interventions,
and policies.
Challenges
• Changing Behaviours
– Educate
– Change practice
• Create an environment that balances risk
and best practice for the high risk patient
• Creating a Senior Friendly Environment
Contact Information
Suzanne Baker
Falls Prevention Coordinator
Department of Health
Promotion and Protection/South
Shore Health
Phone: (902) 634-8807 x3193
Email:[email protected]