Frailty workshops for health workers in rural Australia

Frailty is a clinical syndrome, associated with, but not directly consequent upon, ageing.

Frail elderly can live independently in the community but the condition means that any relatively small loss of health can precipitate loss of independence and a need for full-time care.

Conversely, small health gains in this group can make a profound difference to people’s ability to continue to live independently. This is particularly important in rural populations where the support facilities are lacking, distances are great, and moving into care may well remove people from friends and family.

Early and appropriate intervention may extend people’s ability to live independently and save the personal and societal costs associated with full-time care.

Multidisciplinary workshops are being held in rural Australia to provide an innovative focus on frailty; its assessment and its management.

Topics will include diagnosis and classification, medication management, nutrition, rehabilitation and falls prevention and the management of social and financial issues, including elder abuse.

The workshops will be held in 2007 at:

1. Wagga Wagga 24 June
2. Lismore 22 July
3. Mount Gambier 19 August
4. Queanbeyan 2 September
5. Port Augusta 16 September
6. Berri 28 October

For more information visit http://www.csu.edu.au/frailty