NeuRA researchers have joined forces with other experts, high profile Australians and more than 30 community organisations to launch Australia’s first national falls prevention alliance.
Falls cost the Australian healthcare system $3 billion a year and a leading cause of death and injury among older Australians, with 17 older people dying and 400 hospitalised every day due to injuries from falls.
The Alliance was officially launched this week in Sydney with a number of NeuRA’s falls researchers joining with representatives from the University of Sydney, UNSW Sydney, health services, Rotary and high-profile advocates, including former NSW Premier and Minister for Foreign Affairs, The Hon Bob Carr, Craig Foster AM, Sophie Scott AOM, Michael Kidd, AO, Elizabeth Evatt, and actor Michael Caton.
“Australia is a world leader in falls prevention research, but we are lacking a strong coordinated approach which could help to reduce falls across the country rapidly,” said NeuRA Senior Principal Research Scientist, Professor Kim Delbaere, who is also Discipline Lead of Physiotherapy at UNSW’s School of Health Sciences and President of the Australian and New Zealand Falls Prevention Society.
“The federal government released its National Demetia Action Plan at the end of 2024, and we need the same commitment for falls prevention.”
The Alliance called for coordinated action by Federal and State governments to Develop a National Falls Action Plan; Increase funding for intervention programs, and Fund a national public health campaign.
This message was reiterated in a campaign video that aims to raise awareness of the scale of the issue, but also the impact coordinated action could have in preventing them. Australian acting royalty, Michael Caton, and former politician, Bob Carr, were among the high-profile personalities to share their powerful personal stories and lend their support to the campaign.
Professor Cathie Sherrington from the Sydney School of Public Health and Institute for Musculoskeletal Health said. While the government has invested in skin cancer prevention and preventing smoking-related diseases, little comparable investment has been made in falls.
“We have an ageing population in Australia,” she said.
“Without investment in prevention programs, the problem of fall-related injuries and deaths will continue to rise.”
You can watch the Falls Prevention Alliance Australia’s campaign video here.
