Falls prevention in older adults: How can primary care pave the way?

Abstract

Primary care sees a large proportion of older adults experiencing or at risk of falls, providing an important opportunity for falls prevention. Falls can result in significant burden of fractures, hospitalisation and mortality and they have high associated healthcare costs. A third of falls could be prevented through use of evidence-based interventions. This article will present up-to-date evidence in falls prevention from the latest global guidance and experts in the field. It will provide an overview of how to assess the likelihood of an individual experiencing falls in the future, provide guidance on signposting and referral to appropriate services. In current primary care practice, with significant time pressure and conflicting priorities, this article aims to focus our attention and provide a practical approach to prevention of falls in the community.