Australian and UK optometrists have developed new guidelines to help prevent falls in older patients.
Created in a collaboration between Queensland University of Technology and the University of Bradford, the optometry guidelines cover prescribing, patient management and recommendations.
Queensland’s Professor Joanne Wood said, “Research evidence shows that vision is linked to balance and falls. Importantly, many vision problems linked to increased falls risk can be avoided or are reversible.
“Optometrists have a key role in falls prevention of their older patients through awareness of their patients’ falls history, appropriate detection of visual impairment and prescribing refractive corrections that minimise the risk of falling.”
UK Professor David Elliott worked with Prof Wood and team since 2017 on collaborative vision, balance and falls research projects to produce the guidelines, which have been published by Optometry Australia. http://bit.ly/fallguidelines
