A unique program in Perth is addressing the crisis of fall-related injuries in older hospitalized patients. The Safe Recovery Program, led by Dr. Loo and supported by community advocates, aims to raise awareness about fall prevention, particularly among older adults who are often the most vulnerable. Nationwide, falls continue to be the number one cause of injury-related hospitalizations, at a cost of nearly $5 billion last year. In fact, the majority of these events occur to persons 85 and older.
With a focus on making the program inclusive, Dr. Loo explains, “It’s really about making sure that everybody has the information they need to be safe.” Dr. Loo, with collaborators Zhang Shijie and Zhou Yuening, identified a key barrier for migrant communities—the original materials were only available in English. To tackle this challenge head on, they led the charge to translate their entire program into Mandarin.
The Safe Recovery Program is currently being delivered at Perth’s Chung Wah Community Centre in Mandarin, making vital information accessible to the local Chinese-speaking population. Retiree Liu Xuxiang, 80, is typical of the listeners who participate in calling into the show. In his testimony, he cautioned against assumption when it came to safety in hospitals.
“Some people think the hospital is a safe place and assume they won’t fall. In reality, falls still happen there quite often. For example, when you go to the bathroom, even a small wet patch on the floor can make you fall. One fall can lead to serious consequences. Since coming to Australia, I’ve seen that people take this issue of older adults falling very seriously and I think that’s great, because awareness is the first step to prevention.” – Liu Xuxiang
Fang Linkun coordinates the community center’s arts programs. He touted that the Safe Recovery Program was all about changing culture and eliminating stigma, not just offering classroom training.
“They give older people a different kind of experience, not really formal teaching, more like sharing their experiences. This helps older people feel, oh, if I do this, I might lower my chances of falling. If I do that, I might avoid a fall, and I might not trouble my children so much. This is because of our Asian cultural background; once people reach a certain age, they try not to bother their children.” – Fang Linkun
With students like Zhang Shijie and Zhou Yuening actively delivering the program in Mandarin, Zhang Shijie Zhou Yuening. For Zhang Shijie, the cause has become deeply personal. After her grandmother had a fall in China, this fuels her passion to work on this issue.
Ms. Zhang emphasized the need for translation to help people meaningfully engage with health information.
“Having translations allows the individual patient to actually engage with information directly. There are very much cultural nuances that inform how people are willing to accept and access that information.” – Ms Zhang
The Safe Recovery Program doesn’t stop at Mandarin. It’s already translated the materials into Vietnamese and Arabic languages, and released localized versions in Greek and Italian are on the way! This multilingual approach is a great example of their commitment to inclusivity and the well-being of their community and neighbors.
The Safe Recovery Program serves an urgent need within our healthcare system. This allows you to make sure everyone can access vital information in their preferred language. Hosting this initiative, Magic has brought stellar communication and cultural nuance that’s critical in infancy. By equipping older adults with the knowledge and resources to prevent falls, we’re taking important steps to improve our communities for people of all ages.
