children and youth will increase the likelihood
to implementing intergenerational approaches
to falls prevention and treatment.
Community: The majority of older persons
grow old in their own homes and in the
communities they have lived in for most
of their lives. Accordingly, it is important
to educate all sectors of these communities
about the importance of a proactive,
evidence-based strategy for reducing falls.
Building awareness of risk factors for falls
at the community level is particularly important
because there is evidence that the
structure of the physical environment can
impact the likelihood of an older person to
fall. It can also make the difference between
independence and dependence for individuals
who live in unsafe environments or
areas with multiple physical barriers. These
barriers can render older persons more
susceptible to isolation, depression, reduced
physical activity, and increased mobility
problems.
Health sector:: The WHO Active Ageing
Framework recognizes that building awareness
and changing the attitudes of health
and social-service providers is paramount
to ensuring that their practices enable and
empower individuals to remain as autonomous
and independent as doable for as
long as possible. Within the area of falls
and falls prevention, health professionals
have a critical role to play in identifying
risk factors and determinants for falls, and
for recommending culturally-appropriated
evidence base interventions for the preven