This chapter describes the epidemiology, aetiologies, consequences and prevention of falls in the community, acute and long-term care settings. The majority of falls occur indoors and during the day, in a person's usual place of residence and in frequently used rooms such as bedrooms, kitchens and dining rooms. Falls incidence in nursing care facilities are about three times those in the community, with more than half of residents experiencing at least one fall annually. A myriad of risk factors for falls have been identified and are classified broadly as intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Several commonly used medications have shown association with falls, but each class confers different levels of risk. A number of chronic diseases are independently associated with falls and both number and type of chronic conditions play a role in falls. Falls and associated injuries cause substantial physical, social and psychological morbidity in the individual and cost for the health system.
Many research studies evaluate physical activity interventions for older people in the community, however relatively few successfully promote maintenance of physical activity beyond the completion of the intervention. This study aimed to implement and evaluate the effects of sustained engagement in physical activity on mental, social and physical health outcomes through the use of the Seniors Exercise Park physical activity program for older people (the ENJOY project).People aged ≥60 years underwent a 12-week structured supervised physical activity program using outdoor exercise park equipment followed by 6 months unstructured independent use of the exercise park. Participants were assessed at baseline, 3 months and 9 months and completed a test battery evaluating physical activity, physical function and health related quality of life measures. Repeated measures ANOVA was used to compare differences between baseline, 3 and 9 months.Of the 95 participants, 80 (84.2%) completed the 3 months supervised program, and 58 (61%) completed the 9 month assessment (the latter impacted by COVID-19 restrictions). A significant increase in physical activity level was demonstrated following the 12 weeks intervention (p < 0.01). Significant improvements were also demonstrated in all physical function measures (p < 0.01), self-rated quality of life (p < 0.05), wellbeing (p < 0.01), fear of falls (p < 0.01), falls risk (p < 0.01), depressive symptoms (p = 0.01) and loneliness (p = 0.03) at 3 months. At the 9 months follow up, significant improvements from baseline were demonstrated in the frequency, duration and total of physical activity level (p < 0.05), and all physical function measures (p < 0.05), with no decline in these measures from 3 to 9 months. At 9 months, significant changes were observed in the health related quality of life mobility and self care domains with reductions in both fear of falls and falls risk (p < 0.05).The Seniors Exercise Park may be an effective modality for improving and sustaining older people's physical function and wellbeing and can be an important public health infrastructure investment in promoting physical activity for older people. Future work should focus on wider implementation of the program and on scaling up this initiative to achieve public health benefit for the community.Trial registration number ACTRN12618001727235, Date of registration 19th October 2018, https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=375979.
Abstract The Journal of Gerontology Biological Sciences (JGBS) is one of the Gerontological Society of America publications. It publishes articles on the biological aspects of aging in areas such as translational gerontology, biomarkers of aging, biochemistry, biodemography, cellular and molecular biology, and geroscience. Biological insights are also published in studies from invertebrates, vertebrates, and mammalian species, including humans. With an impact factor of 6.59, this journal is one of the leading journals in the field. Overall, and although the journal is highly valued by biomedical researchers worldwide, the authors of our top and most impactful papers do not usually have the opportunity to answer the questions from their peers constructively and interactively. In addition, there is a significant number of biomedical researchers that, although members of the Society, do not submit their best results to the journal. This symposium, chaired by the Editor-in-Chief of the JGBS, will comprise six presentations by the authors of the most influential papers of the year (June 2022 to June 2023). The papers will be selected based on their impact via citations and/or social media. Presenters will be chosen following diversity, equity, and inclusion principles. Various topics going from cells to animal models will be covered while highlighting the translational potential of those discoveries. Ten minutes presentation will be followed by 5 minutes of Q&A with ample opportunity to interact.
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