Falls and Injury Prevention

About every two minutes in Ontario, at least one older adult over the age of 65 visits an emergency department due to a fall.  In fact, falls are the leading cause of injury among older adults.[1] In 2010, it was estimated that falls cost Canadians $8.7 billion making it costlier than any other injury.[2] In 2017 in our community, fall-related injuries account for 33% of all injury-related emergency visits. The rate of hospitalization in Windsor Essex County was greater than the combined rate for the next five leading causes of injuries. Those hospitalized in Windsor-Essex from 2004-2013 for a fall-related injury will spend an average of 13.0 days in the hospital. In Windsor-Essex County, 20% of all injury-related mortalities are due to a fall.[3]

The good news is that most falls are predictable and preventable.

References

[1] Erie St. Clair Local Health Integration Network Regional Fall Prevention Current State Discussion Paper, November 2018

[2] https://parachute.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Cost_of_Injury-2015.pdf

[3]https://www.wechu.org/sites/default/files/reports-and-statistics/Injury_Profile_of_Windsor_and_Essex_County_December_2015_ACCESSIBLE.pdf

Falls Prevention

Falls are the leading cause of injury and death among seniors. Most falls however are avoidable with appropriate education, awareness, screening, assessment, intervention, and prevention. The Windsor Essex Community Health Centre Falls Prevention Screening Clinic is a group of health care providers from the community who work with seniors to help maintain their independence and reduce their risk of having a fall. To learn more, visit the Windsor Essex Community Health Centre’s Falls Prevention Program.