Falls in older people are an enormous concern across the globe both in terms of costs and health. The annual cost of fall-related acute care in Australian hospitals for older people was estimated to exceed $600 million/year a few years ago.
Indirect costs are to the family and the productivity of our society when people lose work and community hours because they are caring for someone who has fallen.
Falls prevention has never been more important, and it will become even more so as the current baby boomer age group retires and moves into older age. For the first time in history there will be more people in the older age group than under 14, and the population over 80 (those at highest risk of falling) will reach 20% of the older population.
This video from Stay on Your Feet is a reminder that many falls are preventable, and we can all take positive action.