Community Fall Prevention Campaign aims to promote physical well-being

The opening ceremony of the Community Fall Prevention Campaign, hosted by the Fu Lun Elders’ Association of Macau, co-hosted by the Macau Medical and Health Federation and sponsored by the public Macau Foundation (FM), was held yesterday at the Ho Yin Auditorium on the fifth floor of the Women’s General Association of Macau’s Integrated Services Building on Rua da Barca.

The campaign aims to promote community physical well-being and raise awareness of fall prevention for Macau’s elderly. It is projected to last for a year and contains a series of fall-related injury prevention talks by healthcare professionals, as well as exercise training workshops.

Several representatives from the co-organiser were invited to participate in the ribbon-cutting ceremony. In addition, the event invited physiotherapists to deliver a set of fall prevention exercise demonstrations on the sidelines of the opening ceremony, followed by a seminar on balance improvement. The event was attended by about 150 guests.

Chan Oi Chu, chairwoman of the Fu Lun Elders’ Association of Macau, said during her opening remarks that the Community Fall Prevention Pilot Programme held in the previous years had received positive feedback from senior citizens and civil society’s stakeholders, inspiring the campaign’s further expansion and continued development. She emphasised the importance of “interdisciplinary collaboration” between the social service and healthcare sectors, in order for the elderly to better understand their physical condition, detect the risk factors of falling, and learn how to mitigate them.

According to Chan, the campaign targets various age groups, including children, teenagers and adults, because their knowledge of elderly care is key to developing a more age-friendly community. She highlighted that fall injuries can have serious impacts on daily life and self-care ability, and in some severe cases, may cause fractures or even death.

Lam Kit Ying, president of the Fu Lun Elders’ Association of Macau, told reporters on the sidelines of the opening ceremony that the previous campaigns’ participants had significantly improved their muscle strength, balance and reflexes through a series of educational activities. However, she added, more relevant training needed to be provided to caregivers in order to enhance home safety, since most household slip, trip and fall injuries occur due to the lack of attention by caregivers. “Older adults with walk-related disabilities usually rely on home caregivers such as domestic helpers for their daily-living activities, so the lack of fall prevention awareness might significantly increase the risk of the elderly getting injured,” she added.

Some of the elderly participants told reporters on the sidelines of the opening ceremony that they had already suffered falls more than once in their life. A female participant surnamed Lei said that she has been taking measures to avoid falls, such as wearing non-slip footwear and installing a bathroom grab bar. 

Lam Kit Ying, president of the Fu Lun Elders’ Association of Macau, talks to reporters on the sidelines of yesterday’s opening ceremony at the Women’s General Association of Macau’s Integrated Services Building on Rua da Barca. – Photo by Gabriel Tam

A physiotherapist (front) leads a group of participants in yesterday’s event at the Women’s General Association of Macau’s Integrated Services Building on Rua da Barca in a fall prevention exercise on stage. – Photo courtesy of TDM