Project Description Narrative:
More than one third of adults 65 and older suffer a fall each year. Falls are the leading cause of injury deaths and the most common non-fatal injuries and hospital admissions for trauma among older adults. In Wisconsin, falls account for 24% of all injury-related emergency department visits with reported external causes. In Barron County, the annual rate of falls requiring a hospital stay for people 75 and older is 117 per 1,000.
Though there are services that can assist with fall prevention, delivery of service in rural areas can be a challenge, and with few fall risk assessments and lack of transportation, elderly residents in Barron County are not always connected with available fall prevention services.
With this study, project partners plan to establish a collaboration between Barron County Office on Aging, Lakeview Medical Center, and the Injury Research Center at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Through this collaboration, they aim to reduce the burden of fall-related injury and death in Barron County, and demonstrate how rural community-based organizations and academic institutions can partner to improve health in Wisconsin.
Community partner: Barron County Office on Aging