Falls injuries cost our health system $4.7 billion in 2020-21 and are leading cause of injury hospitalisations and death. That’s according to figures just released by the Australian Institute for Health and Welfare. But, what can we do to improve these national figures and reduce our own falls risk? NeuRA’s Professor Kim Delbaere is a Senior Principal Research Scientist and Director of Innovation and Translation at the Falls, Balance and Injury Research Centre is available to answer these questions and talk about the work she and her colleagues are doing in this space.
Prof Delbaere has qualifications in rehabilitation sciences and physiotherapy and completed her PhD on falls in older people. Her research has contributed to the understanding of physical, psychological and cognitive factors causing falls. Her multidisciplinary approach incorporates elements from physiotherapy, psychology, brain imaging and software engineering towards preventing falls and promoting healthy ageing. Prof Delbaere developed the StandingTall app-based program for fall prevention and this year published research on strategies to prevent falls, including walking backwards.
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Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA) is an independent, not-for-profit research institute based in Sydney aiming to prevent, treat and cure brain and nervous system diseases, disorders and injuries through medical research. To learn more about NeuRA: www.neura.edu.au
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