Doctors at National Taiwan University Hospital yesterday called for better care and safeguards against injuries from falls among the elderly as the nation ages.
Li Jia-ming (黎家銘), a doctor at the hospital’s Beihu branch, said that more than 70 percent of the nation’s elderly suffer injuries from falls, and that 80 percent of injury-related hospital stays for those aged 65 and above were the result of falls.
“Taiwan is an aging society, as is the rest of the world. The percentage of elderly people exceeds that of the youth by 7 percent, making geriatric care more important than ever,” Beihu branch president Yang Pei-ming (楊培銘) told a press conference yesterday.
The hospital conducted a survey from last October to May of 676 people aged 65 and above in Taipei City’s Wanhua District (萬華). Of the respondents, 159 or 23.5 percent had experienced a fall in the past year with some suffering multiple falls, bringing the total number of falls to 197.
Fractures
Surprisingly, most falls occurred on level ground, Li said.
“One to 2 percent of the elderly who experienced a fall fractured their hipbone,” he said.
As a result of the fall, more than half were unable to “sufficiently take care of themselves, making correct care and supervision vital,” he said
Some doctors dismiss falls as an “inevitable part of aging,” said Han Te-sheng (韓德生), another doctor, resulting in improper or no treatment at all.
He said that there were certain steps that could be taken to decrease the risk of falls.
Creating a safe environment, such as clearing the floor of electrical cords and securing carpets, can help prevent falls, he said.
Han also suggested regular exercise to help the elderly strengthen their sense of stability and balance.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is pushing for residents of Kinmen and Lienchiang counties to acquire Chinese ID cards in a bid to “blur national identities,” a source said. The efforts are part of China’s promotion of a “Kinmen-Xiamen twin-city living sphere, including a cross-strait integration pilot zone in China’s Fujian Province,” the source said. “The CCP is already treating residents of these outlying islands as Chinese citizens. It has also intensified its ‘united front’ efforts and infiltration of those islands,” the source said. “There is increasing evidence of espionage in Kinmen, particularly of Taiwanese military personnel being recruited by the
ENTERTAINERS IN CHINA: Taiwanese generally back the government being firm on infiltration and ‘united front’ work,’ the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association said Most people support the government probing Taiwanese entertainers for allegedly “amplifying” the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda, a survey conducted by the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association showed on Friday. Public support stood at 56.4 percent for action by the Mainland Affairs Council and the Ministry of Culture to enhance scrutiny on Taiwanese performers and artists who have developed careers in China while allegedly adhering to the narrative of Beijing’s propaganda that denigrates or harms Taiwanese sovereignty, the poll showed. Thirty-three percent did not support the action, it showed. The poll showed that 51.5 percent of respondents supported the government’s investigation into Taiwanese who have
South Korean K-pop girl group Blackpink are to make Kaohsiung the first stop on their Asia tour when they perform at Kaohsiung National Stadium on Oct. 18 and 19, the event organizer said yesterday. The upcoming performances will also make Blackpink the first girl group ever to perform twice at the stadium. It will be the group’s third visit to Taiwan to stage a concert. The last time Blackpink held a concert in the city was in March 2023. Their first concert in Taiwan was on March 3, 2019, at NTSU Arena (Linkou Arena). The group’s 2022-2023 “Born Pink” tour set a
A Philippine official has denied allegations of mistreatment of crew members during Philippine authorities’ boarding of a Taiwanese fishing vessel on Monday. Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) spokesman Nazario Briguera on Friday said that BFAR law enforcement officers “observed the proper boarding protocols” when they boarded the Taiwanese vessel Sheng Yu Feng (昇漁豐號) and towed it to Basco Port in the Philippines. Briguera’s comments came a day after the Taiwanese captain of the Sheng Yu Feng, Chen Tsung-tun (陳宗頓), held a news conference in Pingtung County and accused the Philippine authorities of mistreatment during the boarding of
RSS