In Australia, it is estimated that 30% of people aged over 65 years living in the community sustain a fall at least once a year, whilst in an aged-care facility, 50% of residents experience one.

Falls can result from a multitude of factors, such as the use of medicines. Some medicines can produce different side effects such as drowsiness, confusion, blurred vision, dizziness, and postural hypotension, which can all contribute and increase the risk of a falls incident. There are many negative effects that a fall can have on an individual (both acute and chronic), including pain and injury as well as psychological impacts such as anxiety, a decrease in confidence and the development of a fear of falling, all of which can lead to a loss of independence.

Due to the magnitude of the issue, it is important for pharmacists to be able to recognise and identify a patient who may be at higher risk for falls and feel confident in addressing this issue.

Injury Matters, through the Stay On Your Feet^® program, will deliver a 2-hour training workshop on ‘Medication and falls in older adults’ with presenters Dr Andrew Stafford and Dr Tin Fei Sim. The workshop will provide participants with the knowledge and confidence to identify and assess for falls risk in older adults and recommend the appropriate interventions.

This workshop aims to:

• Increased knowledge of common medicines that can increase the risk of falls.
• Increased knowledge in deprescribing for falls risk and what the current evidence suggests.
• Increased skill in identifying patients who may have an increased risk of fall and discussing ways to prevent these.
• Increased confidence in discussing medicines as a risk factor for falls.
• Increased knowledge in identifying falls risk screening tools currently used in the Australian healthcare setting.
• Increase confidence in discussing the role of pharmacists in reducing falls risks in older adults.

This workshop is aimed at pharmacy students, early career and practising pharmacists.

This activity has been accredited for 1.5 hours of Group 1 CPD (or 1.5 CPD credit) suitable for inclusion in an individual pharmacist’s CPD plan, which can be converted to 1.5 hours of Group 2 CPD (or 3.0 CPD credits) upon successful completion of relevant assessment activities.

Register here