TRIL Centre announces Falls Awareness Day on Oct. 4

Sep 28 2012

The TRIL Centre with Get Ireland Active announces Falls Awareness Day, Thursday 4th October 2012.

One in three people over the age of 65 will fall every year in Ireland. Two-thirds of this group will fall again within six months, leading to risk of hospitalisation and significant health decline. As well as physical injuries suffered, the psychological and social consequences of falling can have a huge impact on the faller.  

People who fall may suffer depression, anxiety, isolation and loss of independence. In addition a recent study by The Irish Centre for Social Gerontology showed that the cost to the economy of falls and fractures in older people is about €500 million annually. This includes costs associated with emergency department visits, hospital stays, GP and outpatient visits and long-term care.

To raise awareness of the importance of falls prevention, the TRIL Centre will demonstrate its technology at a stand in St. James's Hospital Dublin on Falls Awareness Day, Thursday 4^th October, with support from the Falls and Black Out Unit (FABU) at the hospital.  In addition the centre has created a webpage with information and links about falls awareness and prevention.   www.trilcentre.org/fallsawareness2012. 

Falls in older people can be prevented by increasing awareness of falls risks.  The TRIL Centre is at the forefront of using novel sensor technology and algorithms to quantify risk of falling.  This technology, the Falls Risk Assessment Suite, aims to improve accuracy in assessing falls risk and mobility, resulting in more targeted interventions.  The technology suite has been developed on a mobile platform using wireless sensors; this model enables sophisticated falls risk assessment to be undertaken in the home or community. 

Speaking about the need to predict risk of falling, Consultant Physician and Director of the Falls and Blackout Unit at St. James's Hospital, Professor Rose Anne Kenny, TRIL Principal Investigator for Falls Prevention and Professor of Geriatric Medicine in Trinity College Dublin said: "the EU has targeted falls prevention as one of its main priorities for health research in ageing.  Falls become more common as we age and the consequences of falls, such as fractures, also increase.  Unfortunately recurrent falls often result in admission to long term care.  Therefore early detection of treatable conditions which cause falls can prevent these serious consequences.  These new technologies provide such early detection." 

Coinciding with Positive Ageing week, the message from the TRIL Centre and Get Active Ireland is Keep physically active.  Exercise can help to improve your balance and your strength, if you are worried about falling contact your GP.  Professor Kenny added: "Falls are very common in older people, however they are preventable. We have many treatments that can help people back to full health and independence, particularly if risk assessment and intervention is provided at an early stage."