A kit to reduce injuries for older Greek-Australians

A national safety kit to help reduce falls and injuries among older Greek-Australians was launched today at the Australian Greek Welfare Society in Melbourne by the Minister for Ageing, Julie Bishop.

“One in three people aged over 65 fall each year and falls are the leading cause of death for people in this age group,” Ms Bishop said.

“The Australian Government has committed $18.5 million over the nine years to 2008 to the National Falls Prevention for Older People Initiative, which has led to the development of new safety information products on falls prevention.”

“This new kit will provide Greek community groups across Australia with information on how to develop falls prevention plans. The kit includes falls prevention information in Greek, including falls risk checklists and assessment tools.”

“Ageing in Australia’s Greek community is significantly faster than that in the general population. As a result, the risk of falls is a major concern for this section of the community.”

“Around 50,000 older Australians are hospitalised each year due to serious injuries received in a fall. For many older people a serious fall can lead to loss of independence and the need to enter residential aged care. Serious injury to older people causes enormous distress and undue burden to families and their local communities.”

“About 7 per cent of people in Australia over the age of 65 years are from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. This project will help provide this group with information on how to best prevent falls and minimise injury risk,” Ms Bishop said.

The Australian Greek Welfare Society has received funding of up to $121,400 to run the falls project. It is one of three to receive federal funding for falls prevention in older people from culturally and linguistically diverse communities.