The Great Balancing Act – perspectives from older people on falls risk

Dr Kristy Robson is a Lecturer in Podiatry at Charles Sturt University, a regional university in Australia. In this blog she shares a recent Age and Ageing publication that explores the behavioural decisions older people make when they knowingly and unknowingly undertake activities or tasks that pose a risk of falling. She tweets @KristyRobson2

Fall related injuries in older people constitute a significant public health issue in Australia and internationally. Falling represents the leading cause of unintentional injury in this population with approximately one third of older adults falling each year. Effective management of falls in older populations has proven to be challenging. Despite the substantial focus on falls prevention by the Australian government over the last decade the age standardised hospital admission rates attributed to falls continue to increase. The complexity of managing falls risk in the diverse populations found within Australia, coupled with an ageing population and finite resources, drives the need to better understand factors that can influence falling from the perspective of the older person.

Why it gets harder to prevent falls when older people leave hospital

Chiara Naseri is a physiotherapist and is currently completing her PhD at Western Australia’s Curtin University School of Physiotherapy and Exercise Science. She has recently published a review in Age and Ageing entitled “Reducing falls in older adults recently discharged from hospital: A systematic review and meta-analysis.”

The paper reveals the complexity of the discharge process for older people and that more support is required than is currently widely recognised. Her team found that falls prevention strategies, known to reduce falls for older people in general, were not as effective for older people following hospital discharge.

Evidence has shown 30% of the population of older people who live in the community fall at least once per year, 10% of these falls result in a serious injury. Whereas 40% of the population of older people who have recently been discharged home from hospital fall within 6 months of discharge, most of these falls occur in the first month and 54% result in a serious injury, particularly hip fractures.

The ‘Geriatrician’s Salute’: emerging evidence on deprescribing

Professor Sarah Hilmer works as a geriatrician and clinical pharmacologist at Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney, and conjoint professor of geriatric pharmacology at Sydney University, Australia.  Dr Danijela Gnjidic is a pharmacologist who is a NHMRC Dementia Leadership Fellow and Senior Lecturer in Pharmacy Practice at Sydney University, Australia. 

One of the most reversible causes of a geriatric syndrome in our older patients is an adverse drug event.  Approximately 1 in 5 hospital admissions amongst older people are due to adverse drug reactions and during their time in hospital 1 in 6 older people experience an adverse drug reaction.  Consequently, comprehensive medication review is an integral part of the practice of geriatric medicine.

The process of a health professional withdrawing medicines for which the current risk may outweigh the benefit in their patient has been given a variety of names including the ‘geriatrician’s salute’ and increasingly ‘deprescribing’. 

World first study reveals admitting an older relative in temporary respite care can be a deadly mistake

A world first study into deaths of Australians admitted into aged respite care – usually to provide a planned or emergency break for their carer – reveals that older people in respite care are significantly more likely to die from preventable injury causes such as falls than those who are permanent nursing home residents.

The study found that preventable deaths from choking are twice as high as for long term residential care. Other preventable deaths such as from suicide are also higher in these temporary residents.

The research – published in Age and Ageing journal, by Monash University researchers – has serious implications for the 80% of older Australians who are cared for in the community by spouses, family members and friends. Of these more than 50,000 go into temporary respite care each year.

Getting to grips with multimorbidity and polypharmacy for older people

Dr Kevin Mc Namara is a Senior Research Fellow at Deakin University’s School of Medicine and Centre for Population Health Research. He has a particularly interest in the implementation of models for chronic disease prevention and management, including the management of multimorbidity. His paper, Health professional perspectives on the management of multimorbidity and polypharmacy for older patients in Australia, has been published in Age and Ageing.

Researchers from Australia offer some valuable insights about effective multidisciplinary care for older people who often have multiple health conditions (multimorbidity) and take multiple medications (polypharmacy). In ageing populations across the developed world, multimorbidity and polypharmacy pose unique and growing challenges for health professionals and systems. Treatments and goals for different health conditions are often not compatible, guideline recommendations may not be feasible, the evidence often lacking for older adults, and health systems are not designed to coordinate the activities of multiple health professionals often involved with care.

Getting to grips with multimorbidity and polypharmacy for older people

Dr Kevin Mc Namara is a Senior Research Fellow at Deakin University’s School of Medicine and Centre for Population Health Research. He has a particularly interest in the implementation of models for chronic disease prevention and management, including the management of multimorbidity. His paper, Health professional perspectives on the management of multimorbidity and polypharmacy for older patients in Australia, has been published in Age and Ageing journal.

Researchers from Australia offer some valuable insights about effective multidisciplinary care for older people who often have multiple health conditions (multimorbidity) and take multiple medications (polypharmacy). In ageing populations across the developed world, multimorbidity and polypharmacy pose unique and growing challenges for health professionals and systems. Treatments and goals for different health conditions are often not compatible, guideline recommendations may not be feasible, the evidence often lacking for older adults, and health systems are not designed to coordinate the activities of multiple health professionals often involved with care.