Good morning all
The oldest among us are being cared for at home for longer.
It makes sense to do so: Home-care reduces care costs since a hospital or care home is very expensive. However, the longer people hang-out at home, the more likely they are to fall. When you fall at home, you also have a longer ‘lay’, and the longer the lay, the more severe the health-complications.
I’ve gathered from conversations this week that more people at home is leading to more repeat falls. There is a theory that more than half of falls are due to physical unfitness. (Logically, this makes sense). Encouraging fitness is a mitigation strategy that is both good for the soul and has a relatively low cost (relative to hospitalisation).
‘suggest that a moderate level of physical activity can reduce the risk of falls and prevent their consequences like fractures and other injuries [
17,
55]. Even light or vigorous exercise can produce health benefits’
‘Despite good intentions and perceived benefits, on-going participation in falls prevention exercises beyond a structured, supervised intervention was not a priority for these older people. Promoting continuation of falls prevention exercises post-intervention is just as challenging as promoting uptake to and adherence during exercise programmes.’
There is probably a technology play here, to promote regular exercise, but I’m yet to see it.
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