Falls are a significant and increasing threat to wellbeing and health of older adults in Finland. Education is a key factor to prevent falls. National recommendations have been published to guide the health care professionals' work in falls prevention. In addition, interprofessional collaboration between different organizations have been done to prevent falls. This collaboration has produced evidence-based falls risk assessment tools, falls prevention programs, and materials advising older adults to prevent falls. Healthcare and educational organizations use these methods and materials to educate professionals and students in the risk assessment and prevention of falls among older adults. Finland is a good example how healthcare professionals from different settings and universities have worked together to increase the knowledge about falls and skills to prevent falls. Good collaboration can prevent falls nationally.
TopIntroduction
Falls are a growing health challenge for older adults worldwide. Life expectancy is increasing globally (United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, 2015). In rapidly aging Finland, the number and incidence of severe fall-related injuries and deaths has increased during the last four decades, only the incidence of hip fractures has shown declining trend (Korhonen, 2014). Among the oldest old, especially among older women, there is an increasing need of long-term care because of fall-related injuries (Ryynänen, Kivelä, Honkanen, Laippala & Soini, 1991; Halonen, Raitanen, Jämsen, Enroth & Jylhä, 2019).
Falls and falls prevention have a long research tradition in Finland. The first studies were about fall-related hip fractures from the beginning of 20th century (Faltin, 1924) continuing with intervention studies (Edgren et al 2019). Despite the increasing knowledge about falls, there are shortcomings in implementation and integration of falls prevention into clinical practice and care of older adults. However, in the recent years some major efforts have been done in Finland in spreading the evidence-based knowledge to enhance effective falls prevention.
In education, falls prevention is an important topic for several reasons. Falls are prevalent and a major public health concern (World Health Organization, 2007). At individual level, falls cause distress, fear, harm and disability (World Health Organization, 2007; Panel on Prevention of Falls in Older Persons, American Geriatrics Society and British Geriatrics Society, 2011; Vieira, Palmer, & Chaves, 2016). Furthermore, consequences of falls demand health care resources and cause direct and indirect costs to the society (Florence, Bergen, Atherly, Burns, Stevens, & Drake, 2018).
This chapter focuses on fall prevention aimed at older adults. The authors describe the development of falls prevention work and education in Finland. The chapter determine the role of educational, health care, research, administrative and non-profit organizations (NGOs) in falls prevention work. The authors present the work done in Finland to make falls prevention more consistent and systematic across the organizations and among the social and health care students and professionals.