Aunty Roma’s - An Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-specific Falls Prevention Program

South Western Sydney Local Health District

Winner — Health Minister Brad Hazzard, Maria Pron, NSW Health Secretary Elizabeth Koff, Winona Raynard, Minh Pham, Paul Crowe, Katrina Sing, Christina Eagleton, Jola Swierczynski

Falls are the leading cause of injury-related hospitalisation in older Aboriginal people in NSW. We developed a multidisciplinary and culturally specific approach to address the risk of frailty and falls in older Aboriginal people in South Western Sydney that included:

A detailed review of falls prevention interventions and their efficacy in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community. This identified current research informed approaches do not work in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community
Consultative and collaborative effort between the Aboriginal Chronic Care program (ACCP) team, Fairfield Hospital’s Aboriginal Liaison Officer and Allied Health to develop Aunty Roma’s; the first culturally adapted intervention approach in this population.
Aunty Roma’s was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of this culturally appropriate approach and demonstrated a 75% reduction in falls incidence, significant improvement in patient engagement, confidence level and physical activity level.