Abstract
In Latin America and the Caribbean, there is a scarcity of data on falls, the leading cause of death as a result of unintentional injuries, among older adults aged 65+ years of age. By 2050, 80 % of the 2 billion older adults worldwide are expected to be living in this region; therefore, it is imperative that this issue receive urgent attention from community health practitioners, health educators and policy makers. Guided by Pillar 1—awareness of the WHO fall prevention model for community-dwelling older adults, the purpose of this paper was to describe the feasibility of implementing a falls prevention awareness educational initiative in the Eastern Caribbean Island of Grenada. Sixty-two older adults, average age 67, participated in a falls awareness workshop. An anonymous pre-workshop falls assessment checklist was distributed to establish baseline information followed by an interactive workshop. Eight fall risks were identified and 52 % of the participants reported a history of falls. Based on the group’s eagerness to participate, we are encouraged that falls prevention intervention initiatives are feasible among others of similar characteristics in Grenada and plan to implement Pillar II—objective falls assessment and Pillar III—on-going interventions.
References
Bergeron, E., et al. (2006). A simple fall in the elderly: Not so simple. Journal of Trauma, 60(2), 268–273.
Central Intelligence Agency. (2015). The World Fact Book. Retrieved from www.cia.gov/library/publications/theworld-factbook/fields/2. http://www.cdc.gov/pednss/how_to/read_a_data_table/calculating_prevalence.htm.
Centers for Diseases Control (CDC) and Prevention. (2015). Preventing falls: How to develop community-based fall prevention programs for older adults (2nd ed.). http://www.cdc.gov/homeandrecreationalsafety/pdf/falls/fallpreventionguide-2015-a.pdf.
Cerasi, M., Landi, F., Torre, S., Onder, G., Lattanzio, F., & Bernabei, R. (2002). Prevalence and risk factors for falls in an older community-dwelling population. Journals of Gerontology. Series A, Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, 57(11), M722–M726.
Eldemire-Shearer, D., Mitchell-Fearon, K., Laws, H., Waldron, N., James, K., & Holder-Nevins, D. L. (2014). Ageing of Jamaica’s population—What are the implications for healthcare? The West Indian Medical Journal, 63(1), 3–8. doi:10.7727/wimj.2014.003.
Fletcher, P. C., & Hirdes, J. P. (2004). Restriction in activity associated with fear of falling among community based seniors using home care services. Age and Ageing, 33, 273–279.
James, K., Eldemire-Shearer, D., Gouldbourne, J., & Morris, C. (2007). Falls and fall prevention in the elderly: The Jamaican perspective. The West Indian Medical Journal, 56(6), 534–539.
McDonald, A. H., Dawkins, N., & Titus, I. (2001). Patterns of trauma injuries in rural versus urban Jamaican. West Indian Medical Journal, 50, 214–217.
National Institute on Aging. (2015). Making your printed health materials senior friendly: Tips from the national institute on aging. Health & aging. https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/publication/making-your-printedhealth-materials-senior-friendly.
Orces, C. H. (2013). Prevalence and determinants of falls among older adults in Ecuador: An analysis of the SABE-1 survey. Current Gerontology and Geriatrics Research. doi:10.1155/2013/495468.
Rantakokko, M., Portegijs, E., Viljanen, A., Iwarsson, S., & Rantanen, T. (2013). Life-space mobility and quality of life in community-dwelling older people. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 61, 1830–1832.
Reyes-Ortiz, C. A., Snih, S. A., & Markides, K. S. (2005). Falls among elderly persons in Latin America and the Caribbean and among elderly Mexican-Americans. Revista Panamericana De Salud Pública = Pan American Journal of Public Health, 17(5–6), 362–369.
Roudsari, B. S., Ebel, B. E., Corso, P. S., Molinari, N. A., & Koepsell, T. D. (2005). The acute medical care costs of fall-related injuries among the U.S. older adults. Injury, 36(11), 1316–1322.
Saad, P. M. (2009). Demographic trends in Latin America and the Caribbean. Retrieved from March 5, 2016 from http://www.cepal.org/celade/noticias/documentosdetrabajo/6/48786/Demographic_Trends_in_LAC_PAULO_SAAD_ED_12_7_09.pdf.
Skelton, D., & Todd, C. (2004). What are the main risk factors for falls amongst older people and what are the most effective interventions to prevent these falls? WHO, Health Evidence Network (HEN). Retrieved March 3, 2016 from http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/74700/E82552.pdf.
Stevens, J. A., Corso, P. S., Finkelstein, E. A., & Miller, T. R. (2006). The cost of fatal and non-fatal falls among older adults. Injury Prevention, 12(5), 290–295. doi:10.1136/ip.2005.011015.
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. (2013). World Population Ageing. ST/ESA/SER.A/348.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. (2010). Toolkit for making written materials clear and effective. https://www.cms.gov/outreach-andeducation/outreach/writtenmaterialstoolkit/downloads/toolkitpart11.pdf.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2020). Office of disease prevention and health promotion. Healthy people 2020. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. http://www.healthypeople.gov/sites/default/files/HP2020Framework.pdf.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). (2000–2013). Deaths from unintentional injury among adults aged 65 and over: United States 2000-2013. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db199.pdf.
World Bank. (2012). The growing burden of non-communicable diseases in the Caribbean. http://siteresources.worldbank.org/LACEXT/Resources/informe2no_jamaica.pdf.
World Health Organization. (2007). WHO global report on falls prevention in older age. Geneva 27: Author.
World Health Organization. (2007). World Health Report 2007: Global public health security in the 21st century. A Safer Future.
World Health Organization. (2009). WHO Public Health and the Environment. Geneva: Author.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
In compliance with transparency and ethical standards, the co-authors have not received any funding for this work; hence, there is no conflict of interest.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lyons, B.P., Hall, R.J. Outcomes of a Falls Prevention Education Program Among Older Adults in Grenada. J Community Health 41, 1021–1026 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-016-0185-7
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-016-0185-7