• Commemorating Falls Prevention Week: 18 -22 September 2023.  
• Adults older than 60 years suffer the most fatal falls.   
• Raising awareness about safety precautions to reduce the risk of falling in elderly at home.  

Hyderabad, 21st September 2023: India is facing unprecedented demographic changes. The UN World population ageing report notes that India's ageing population, the 'elderly,' will grow from 8% in 2021 to 20% by 2050—over 300 million people. Adults aged 60 and older are at the highest risk of fatal falls. As per the estimates, the prevalence of falls among older adults in India is 31%. Falls often result in serious injuries, decreased mobility, and loss of independence. Through simple and appropriate precautionary measures, we can significantly reduce the occurrence of falls among the elderly.

L V Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI) offers a comprehensive range of specialized eye care services with a dedicated focus on the unique eye care needs of the elderly. LVPEI’s Kallam Anji Reddy campus in Hyderabad has an exclusive eye care facility - the Gland Pharma Centre for Elderly Eye Care. To raise awareness about safety precautions to reduce the risk of falling among the elderly at home, a 'Falls Prevention Experience Centre' has been established.

To commemorate Falls Prevention Week, a global initiative observed from 18 - 22 September, the Experience Centre will be inaugurated on 21 September 2023. The Gland Pharma senior leadership team will inaugurate the centre.

"Simple measures such as regular eye and ear examinations, exercise, and addressing the fear of falling are critical for preventing falls in elderly. Additionally, making simple infrastructural modifications at home, including installing grab bars and railings, using a shower chair and non-skid tiles/mats in the bathroom, and ensuring proper illumination, significantly contribute to fall prevention. The Experience Centre showcases these simple modifications that, when applied at home, can have a substantial impact," says Dr Avinash Pathengay, Director of Elderly Eye Care Services at L V Prasad Eye Institute.

The inauguration was followed by an awareness event featuring talks on common eye problems, fall prevention in the elderly, and a brief overview of the dedicated elderly eye care services offered at LVPEI. Additionally, throughout the week, LVPEI is also organizing several other activities such as old age home eye screening programs, guest lectures for staff and patients, etc.

About the elderly eye care services at LVPEI: LVPEI made its foray into Geriatric (elderly) eye care six years ago with the establishment of an exclusive elderly eye care centre at the Vishakhapatnam campus, courtesy of Aurobindo Pharma Limited. Subsequently, two more centres were inaugurated, one at the Hyderabad campus, courtesy of Gland Pharma, and another at the Bhubaneswar campus, courtesy of ICICI Bank. These centres offer personalized care, including comprehensive eye examinations, diagnostics, surgical interventions, vision rehabilitation, physiotherapy, screening for systemic health conditions, as well as counselling on preventive measures to reduce the risk of falls.

About LVPEI: Established in 1987, L V Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI), a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Prevention of Blindness, is a comprehensive eye health facility. The Institute has ten functional arms in its areas of operations: Clinical Services, Education, Research, Vision Rehabilitation, Rural and Community Eye Health, Eye Banking, Advocacy and Policy Planning, Capacity Building, Innovation and Product Development. The LVPEI Eye Care Network has 280+ Centres spread across the states of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Karnataka in India. The institute's mission is to provide equitable and quality eye care to all sections of society. The LVPEI’s five-tier ‘Eye Health Pyramid’ model covering all sections of society right from the villages to the city, provides high quality and comprehensive - prevention, curative and rehabilitation – eye care to all. It has served over 36.89 million (3 crores 68 lakh people), with more than 50% of them entirely free of cost, irrespective of the complexity of care needed.

This is a press release received from the L V Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI), any views, opinions, statements, or information contained in this press release are solely those of L V Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI), and do not reflect the views or opinions of Medicircle.