Investing in Fall Prevention for Seniors

The province is investing $300,000 over three years to prevent falls among seniors, Health Promotion Minister Rodney MacDonald announced today, May 18. Falls are the leading cause of injury among seniors.

"This is a serious health issue and we're putting resources in place to decrease the rates of falls," said Mr. MacDonald. "This government is committed to improving the health of Nova Scotians and injury prevention plays a big part in that."

Prevention of falls is a priority area of the province's Injury Prevention Strategy. Each year one in three people over the age of 65 will experience a fall. Of these, one in five will result in a fracture. The investment is going into Preventing Falls Together, a project of Community Links. Community Links is a charitable association that helps rural seniors and volunteers share effective ways of meeting the needs and priorities of older Nova Scotians while promoting healthy communities.

"This funding allows us to continue our efforts to prevent falls among seniors," said Sandra Murphy, provincial co-ordinator with Community Links. "We're able to build capacity and make this a sustainable project so we can continue to build on the strengths of rural communities and the experience of volunteers who serve seniors."

Preventing falls is one of three priority areas of the provincial strategy, along with prevention of motor vehicle crashes and self-inflicted injury. The strategy was developed in the fall of 2003 by stakeholders at the request of the Office of Health Promotion. The strategy received a $350,000 investment this year.

"This is a growth year as we build a foundation for the strategy," said Julian Young, co-ordinator of injury prevention and control at the Office of Health Promotion. "Simply having this strategy in place is a huge step in the right direction. We're the only province in Canada with a provincially-funded injury prevention strategy."

The Injury Prevention Strategy is on the Health Promotion website at www.gov.ns.ca/ohp/injuryprevention.html .