Seniors Fall Prevention Awareness Week Summary 2010 and 2011

2011

The fifth annual Seniors’ Fall Prevention Awareness Week was held November 7-13, 2011. This year’s events included several activities across the province highlighting fall prevention initiatives in acute, residential and community care, including events such as:

• Campaigns held across B.C., with champions on site at various locations providing information on fall prevention initiatives

• Launch of new Primary Care Fall Prevention Multimedia Package

• Launch of Universal Fall Precaution Tools for Residential Care, Interior Health

• Special event to announce recently released Vitamin D Protocols for Residential Care, Fraser Health

• News release: 2011

 

2010

The fourth annual Seniors’ Fall Prevention Awareness Week (Nov. 1-7, 2010) boasted some noteworthy events that shed light on the importance of seniors’ fall prevention in B.C. Several initiatives across the province the focus of CEMFIA and Seniors’ Fall Prevention Week this year foster the growth of fall prevention efforts around the province.

This year’s events included several activities across the province highlighting fall prevention initiatives in acute, residential and community care, including events such as “Take Back Your Sidewalks: Creating Pedestrian-Friendly Communities for Seniors” Café Scientifique CIHR partnership event in Qualicum, B.C. This event was organized in partnership between Vancouver Island University, Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA), B.C. Injury Research and Prevention Unit (BCIRPU), the Centre of Excellence on Mobility, Fall Prevention and Injury in Aging (CEMFIA), B.C. Fall and Injury Prevention Coalition (BCFIPC), and the Ministry of Health. For the event, a mix of older adults, health professionals, service-providers, policy-makers, researchers, and educators engaged in active dialogue to explore the issue of creating pedestrian friendly city design and community planning to reduce falls and fall related injuries among seniors.

CEMFIA continues to draw upon its partnership with the Centre for Hip Health and Mobility (CHHM) to promote fall prevention among older adults living in residential care via the CHHM’s Mobile Research Lab. The Lab’s unique and technologically advanced capabilities allow for research-based fall prevention risk assessments to occur among populations who might not otherwise have access to these types of assessment.