Programs to reduce the number of fatal injuries among seniors in
Jing'an District, Shanghai,?appear to have worked, with the
death toll plummeting, statistics have revealed.
The proportion of seniors over the age of 60 in Jing'an has hit
the highest in the city, according to a symposium of WHO Safe
Communities in Shanghai yesterday.
According to district statistics, the population of elderly
people exceeded 24 percent of the total 309,800 residents this
year.
Although faced with the most prominent aging problem, the injury
mortality of the elderly aged over 60 decreased from 140.69 per
100,000 seniors in 2003 to 102.48 per 100,000 people last year.
Meanwhile, the average life expectancy in the district increased
to 82.53.
"Accidental falls and traffic accidents are the two main causes
of death among seniors," said Qiao Zhongqiang, chief of the
district public health bureau. "Among the 398 patients in hospital
for injury in 2003, more than half were seniors over the age of 60,
and those injured from falling or accidents comprised 80
percent."
To counter the problem, the district set up long-term,
comprehensive programs of injury prevention and control to all
elderly residents.
One of the most important was the fall prevention program
including balance training, which has been praised by the World
Health Organization.
"This increases personal balance function for seniors, and we
hold lectures on fall prevention spoken by geriatric rehabilitation
experts to eliminate falling risk factors at home," Qiao said.
Experts went to the seniors' homes to ensure sufficient lighting
and installed antiskid measures in kitchens and toilets. Jing'an
became the first district in Chinese mainland to be named as an
International Safety Community, which is considered to have reached
international safety standards.
Three other local communities were also named as International
Safety Communities - Kangjian community in Xuhui District, Hongqiao
Town in Minhang District and the Huamu community in the city's
Pudong New Area.
(Shanghai Daily December 20, 2007)