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Abstract
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Background Little is known about the scope or nature of falls or fall prevention among older Aboriginal/Indigenous people.
Aims/Objectives/Purpose To identify peer-reviewed literature with epidemiology and prevention evidence on the topic of falls and fall-related injury among older Aboriginal people in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States.
Methods A key word search of relevant databases was conducted using combinations of terminology for accidental falls and a comprehensive list of terms for Aboriginal status specific to each country. Each study was independently reviewed by two reviewers against the inclusion criteria with discrepancies determined by a third.
Results/Outcome 34 publications met the review criteria; United States=14; Australia=8; Canada=7; New Zealand=3; international=2. Most are morbidity (14)/mortality (6) reports or reviews (5), with very little on fall prevention.
Significance/Contribution to the Field The findings bring greater awareness to the seriousness of the issue and point to areas of urgent need for future research.
This is an abstract of a presentation at Safety 2012, the 11th World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion, 1-4 October 2012, Michael Fowler Center, Wellington, New Zealand. Full text does not seem to be available for this abstract. |