Public Health Grand Rounds presentation on preventing falls, traumatic brain injury in older adults

Recent statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are telling.

• Each year, one in three older Americans (65 and older) fall, and 30 percent of falls cause injuries requiring medical treatment.
• In 2005, nearly 16,000 older adults died from falls, while 1.8 million older adults were treated in emergency departments and 433,000 of these patients were hospitalized (2005, CDC).
• Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) account for 50 percent of unintentional fall deaths and 8 percent of non-fatal fall-related hospitalizations. (2005, CDC).
• Direct medical costs totaled $200 million for fatal falls and $19 billion for nonfatal fall injuries (2000, CDC).

The PHGR program, “Help Older Adults Live Better, Longer; Prevent Falls and Traumatic Brain Injury”, featured a case study of two successful programs, “Stepping On” and “Sure Step” in Madison and Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Local physicians, physical therapists, program administrators, occupational therapists, patients and caregivers gave a multi-faceted look at the novel ways Wisconsin is addressing the prevention of falls and TBI. A nationally-recognized panel of experts discussed the specifics of the Wisconsin experience and how the ‘lessons learned’ from the case study and related examples can be applied in other settings to improve the health and well-being of our older citizens.

Public Health Grand Rounds is produced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. You can view this program and others in the series at the Public Health Grand Rounds website.