Leadership for this project is provided by the British Columbia Injury Research and Prevention Unit (BCIRPU) and its partners, the Alberta Centre for Injury Control and Research (ACICR), the PEI Centre for the Study of Health and Aging and the PEI Seniors Falls Prevention Coalition, together with a national advisory committee of stakeholders (government and non-government).

The Canadian Falls Prevention Curriculum will give participants the knowledge and skills needed to operate from an evidence-based approach to falls and fall-related injury prevention among seniors. The course will provide insight into how to involve seniors as partners in the development of effective strategies and interventions. Participants will also learn about current effective programs, and the reliability and validity of existing resources and tools for screening and assessing fall risk.

The need for this training was confirmed through a Canada-wide survey of practitioners working in the area of seniors’ falls prevention. Ninety-one percent of respondents (N=292) indicated the need for a national curriculum to teach how to design, implement and evaluate effective falls prevention programs, as no such curriculum exists in Canada.

For seniors, the risk of falling and sustaining an injury is influenced by a broad set of health determinants, including physical, behavioural, environmental, social and economic factors. These wide-ranging contributors to falls can only be ameliorated by the coordinated and sustained approach of a multisectoral team of health professionals and community leaders who are well informed in evidence-based practices for prevention.

For more information, contact us at (416) 596-2700 or at cmeurehg@smartrisk.ca.