title: Best practice in fall prevention: roles of informal caregivers, health care providers and the community.
abstract: Falls are an important public health problem for older adults, resulting in significant morbidity and mortality, as well as healthcare costs. Evidence supports the assessment of older adults' fall risks and implementation of interventions to reduce these risks. Older adults are the key stakeholder in preventing falls, but need the support of their informal caregivers, healthcare providers, and community groups. This article addresses the roles of these additional stakeholders in providing and supporting best practices in fall prevention. Together these stakeholders can assist older adults in self-management of fall prevention, based on the preferences of the individual, local resources, and available programmes and healthcare services.
authors.affiliation: Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO, USA. lachh@slu.edu
authors.forename: Helen W
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Lach
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Krampe
authors.forename: Sutthida
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Phongphanngam
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000368:Aged; D017028:Caregivers / Q000592:standards*; D005851:Geriatric Nursing / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D009740:Nursing Staff / Q000592:standards*; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic / Q000592:standards*; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D017751:Safety Management / Q000592:standards