Information Resources
Information for Health Professionals
Acute Care | Community Care | Residential Aged Care | Healthy Ageing | Physical Activity
Information for the Community
Acute Care
Policy
- Fall Injury Prevention and Management in SWAHS Hospitals - PDF ~514kb
Fall Injury Prevention and Management in SWAHS Hospitals policy is evidence-based and was developed from the Australian Safety and Quality Council best practice guidelines for Australian hospitals and residential care facilities: Preventing falls and harm from falls in older people (2005)
Evidence Based Guideline
- Preventing Falls and Harm from Falls in Older People: Best Practice Guidelines for Australian Hospitals 2009
Evidence Based Guideline - Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, Preventing Falls and harm from Falls in Older People: Best Practice Guidelines for Australian Hospitals, Residential Aged Care Facilities and Community Care 2009. - Falls Prevention in Hospitals Flowchart (CEC) - PDF ~196kb
- Good Practice Strategies (CEC) - PDF ~234kb
- Post Fall Assessment & Management (CEC) - PDF ~267kb
Staff Education
- Falls Prevention Education Resource
The aim of this resource is to facilitate staff to discuss common fall events on their wards and take action to prevent them.
There are 4, fall case studies of varying severity that are highlighted in this package; they are examples of actual fall events that have occurred in hospital. Following the fall event is the post fall procedures and an alternative approach to prevent the fall. The information is based on the Safety and Quality Council Best Practice Guidelines for Preventing Falls and Harm from Falls in older people, 2005 and actual Fall events recorded in the NSW Health Incident Information Management System (IIMS).
Falls Risk Screening Tools
- Ontario Modified Stratify: Sydney Scoring - DOC ~524kb
The transfer and mobility scoring components of the Ontario Modified Stratify falls risk tool (Papaioannou et al 2004, BMC Medicine 2004, 2:1) were confusing for staff. These components have been reconfigured to be more intuitive, and do not change the outcome. The tool has been renamed to Ontario Modified Stratify: Sydney Scoring. - National Ageing Research Institute (NARI) FROP-COM Screening tool for Emergency Departments - PDF ~88kb
This screening tool for Emergency Departments was developed by NARI and features 3 questions, one regarding falls history, another on ADL and a third is observation of the persons balance when walking. It includes a guide for using this tool with options for managing the identified risk factors.
Patient/family/carer information
- Don't Fall for it: Falls can be prevented booklet
A useful booklet for patients and carers.
Falls Prevention Equipment
- A list of products such as alarms, glow in the dark products, hip protectors, lo-lo beds and and non slip products - PDF ~108kb
Community Care
Evidence Based Guideline
- Preventing Falls and Harm from Falls in Older People: Best Practice Guidelines for Australian Community Care 2009
Evidence Based Guideline - Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, Preventing Falls and harm from Falls in Older People: Best Practice Guidelines for Australian Hospitals, Residential Aged Care Facilities and Community Care 2009. - Queensland Stay on Your Feet® Community Good Practice Guidelines - PDF ~528kb
These guidelines include checklists and information on risk screening and assessment tools and strategies for falls prevention for the community setting. - Queensland Stay on Your Feet Community Good Practice Toolkit
- Northern Sydney Central Coast Area Health Service (NSCCAHS): Guidelines for Falls Prevention and Management for Community Service Providers - PDF ~206kb
Falls Prevention evidence-based guidelines developed for community health and community service providers. (Document attached)
Falls Risk Assessment Tools
- FROP-Com Risk Assessment Tool - PDF ~376kb
This tool is a risk assessment tool developed by the National Ageing Research Institute (NARI) and can be downloaded by clicking on the title above. If you wish to use the most recent version of this tool please contact NARI at info@nari.unimelb.edu.au - QuickScreen© Falls Risk Assessment Tool
This tool developed at the Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute (POWMRI) and validated for use in the community setting. This is a multifactorial risk assessment tool that measures a range of falls risk factors including, previous falls, medication use, vision, peripheral sensation, lower-limb strength, balance and co-ordination.
QuickScreen© costs $A310 plus postage (within Australia $A12 per kit) and is available from the Falls and Balance Research Group, Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute
Home Safety Check List
- Stay on Your Feet Home Safety Checklist, NSW Department of Health booklet
A useful checklist of possible falls risk hazards around the home, obtained from:
The Better Health Centre Warehouse (NSW Health Publications)
Phone: 02 9887 5450 or Fax: 02 9887 5452 - Quote code number: 30295 - Will you stay active and independent? - PDF ~178kb
Queensland Stay on Your Feet®, one page checklist - Queensland How to Stay on Your Feet® Checklist - PDF 2.0mb
Queensland Health 2008, comprehensive checklist and information booklet.
Resources for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Populations (CALD)
- NSW Multicultural Health Communication Service
- Home Safety For Falls Prevention
Available in Arabic, Chinese, English, Farsi, Greek, Italian, Korean - Gentle Exercise
Nothing to loose and a lot to gain, available in Arabic, Bosnian, Chinese, Croatian, English, Greek, Italian, Korean, Macedonian, Maltese, Portuguese, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Turkish, Vietnamese. - Make a Move
Practical ways to reduce falls risk factors, available in Arabic, Chinese, English, Greek, Italian, Spanish and Vietnamese
- Home Safety For Falls Prevention
- Queensland HACC Falls Prevention
Falls prevention resources including booklets and posters available in a number of languages including Greek, Italian, Polish, Turkish and Vietnamese. - The Don't Fall for it Falls can be Prevented Booklet
Available in Chinese, German, Greek, Italian and Polish. Limited copies are available from the NSW Falls Prevention Network. Send an e-mail to e.vance@powmri.edu.au.
Summary of Falls Prevention Interventions
Articles from the National Centre for Injury prevention and Control
- Preventing Falls among Older Adults
- Preventing Falls: What Works A CDC Compendium of Effective Community-based Interventions from Around the World (2008) - PDF ~13.1MB
- Preventing Falls: How to Develop Community-based Fall Prevention Programs for Older Adults (2008) - PDF ~2.5MB
Falls Prevention Equipment
- A list of products such as alarms, glow in the dark products, hip protectors, lo-lo beds and and non slip products - PDF ~108kb
Residential Aged Care
Evidence Based Guideline
- Preventing Falls and Harm from Falls in Older People: Best Practice Guidelines for Residential Aged Care Facilities 2009
Evidence Based Guideline - Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, Preventing Falls and harm from Falls in Older People: Best Practice Guidelines for Australian Hospitals, Residential Aged Care Facilities and Community Care 2009. - RACF Aged Care Standards
Staff Education
- Preventing Falls in Care Homes - A thirty minute course
This is a Free Course developed in the UK for healthcare assistants and nursing auxiliaries (AIN and personal carers equivalents) working in Residential Aged Care Facilities and developed by Kiss of Life Multimedia with Bupa Health Care. In half an hour you can learn WHY older people are at high risk of falling when living in care homes and what YOU can do to prevent these accidents. Although designed for use in care homes this short course is also suitable for training staff working in hospitals and the community.
Falls Prevention Equipment
- A list of products such as alarms, glow in the dark products, hip protectors, lo-lo beds and and non slip products - PDF ~108kb
Healthy Ageing
- Ambassador for Ageing
A number of publications on positive and active ageing have been produced by the Department of Health and Ageing featuring Noeline Brown the Ambassador for Ageing. These include: The brochures and accompanying posters can be ordered at no cost by calling National Mail & Marketing (Department of Health & Ageing) on 02 6269 1000. - Choose Health Be Active
This resource offers ideas for keeping active at no cost, including balance and strength exercises that can be done at home. Copies can be ordered free of charge by calling 1800 500 853. - Don't Fall for it: Falls can be prevented booklet
A useful booklet for patients and carers - Staying Power - About PDF ~116kb
This book written by Lindy Clemson and Megan Swann-Williams gives practical and inspirational advice on how to remain independent and prevent falls through a combination of exercise and a healthy active approach. It is available from Sydney University Press. Cost $A29.95 plus postage To order:
Phone: 02 9036 9958 or Fax: 02 9114 0620 - email: sales@sup.usyd.edu.au - Improving Strength and Balance, avoiding falls in later life
This website provides information on falls prevention and was produced by the Centre for Health Care of Older People at Barts and The London, Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry with a helpful input by Health care professionals at the Mile End Hospital (Tower Hamlets Primary Care Trust). The package is aimed at older adults, their relatives and carers. It provides them with detailed and up-to-date information on prevention, causes, consequences and treatment of falls in older people. - Exercise and Physical Activity: Your everyday guide from the National Institute on Aging
This Guide developed by the National Institute on Ageing, National Institutes of Health has been updated and is aimed at encouraging older people to incorporate more physical activity into their daily lives. This guide includes a range of suggestions and exercises to improve strength, balance and flexibility, information on nutrition and worksheets to record progress as well as an emphasis on remaining independent.
Falls Prevention Equipment
- A list of products such as alarms, glow in the dark products, hip protectors, lo-lo beds and and non slip products - PDF ~91kb
Physical Activity
- Choose Health Be Active
This resource offers ideas for keeping active at no cost, including balance and strength exercises that can be done at home. Copies can be ordered free of charge by calling 1800 500 853. - Exercise and Physical Activity: Your everyday guide from the National Institute on Aging
- Balance Exercises for Healthy Ageing: easy ways to improve balance
Guidelines
- Best-Practice Recommendations for Physical Activity to Prevent Falls in Older Adults - PDF ~348kb
Undertaken by Catherine Sherrington, Stephen Lord and Jacqueline Close in 2008
This piece of work was commissioned by the Centre for Health Advancement of the NSW Department of Health through the Sax Institute in 2008. The authors were chosen for their research expertise in the field of falls prevention in older people, in Australia and internationally.
The aim of the work was to obtain clear answers to the two following questions, based on the best available evidence:
- "What are the types, frequency and intensity of physical activity that are most effective in reducing the risk of falls in older adults?"; and
- "What are the most effective programs for delivering these recommended types and levels of physical activity?".
The report provides clear recommendations in response to these questions and is an important input to the development of evidence based falls prevention policy in NSW.