As an older adult, falls can be a life-changing event.

Falls are the number one reason for injury-related death, hospitalization and emergency department visits for older adults in Canada.

What can be done about falls?  Quite a lot. Tune in to this month’s webinars, or check out our resources on our Falls Prevention web page.

“You can make your home safer. Not just for you, but for other family members, and visitors. Bathrooms and stairs are the locations where falls are most likely to be injurious. During my years working in the field of fall prevention, I’ve heard anecdotes of sad, preventable, and painful falls; and stories about disastrous and life-changing or life-ending fall events.  Many of these were falls and injuries that could have been prevented with modifications to the built environment in the places where people live.”

Nancy Edwards, RN (non-practising), PhD, CARP Ottawa Chapter

CARP Ottawa’s Fall Prevention working group has been raising awareness about the risk of environmental hazards for falls for people of all ages.  The CARP group has recently joined forces with The Council on Aging of Ottawa, Ottawa Public Health, and HealthCraft to help residents make their homes and apartments safer.  Working collaboratively will have a bigger impact.

Improve your health
Medication Considerations for Fall Prevention and Fall-Related Injury

Nov. 16, 2023 | 12-1pm ET
Chris Fan-Lun | Pharmacy Clinical Coordinator, Sunnybrook Health Sciences CentreThis webinar will explore the structured approach to medication review to improve identification of fall risk increasing drugs (FRIDs) and the role of deprescribing to reduce fall risk. Medication management considerations of fall-related injuries will be discussed in a case-based format. Find out more and register.

 

Remove hazards
Reducing the Risk of Falls by Removing Environmental Hazards: An Evidence-based Approach

Nov. 28, 2023 | 12-1pm ET
Nancy Edwards | Distinguished Professor and Professor Emerita, University of Ottawa

This webinar will focus on detecting, reducing, and removing fall risk hazards in the built environment. Evidence-based advocacy, educational, and behavioural approaches to reduce environmental hazards will be discussed. Find out more and register.