Unit Faculty Conduct Research into Income and Falls among Elderly Latin Americans

Key faculty from the Johns Hopkins International Injury Research Unit recently co-authored a research paper entitled, “Individual Income and Falls among the Elderly in Latin America.” The paper was led by fellow Johns Hopkins colleague Antonio Trujillo, in addition to Prasanthi Puvanachandra, the Unit’s associate director of training and capacity development, and Dr. Adnan Hyder, the Unit’s director.

Falls among the elderly are an important public health problem with an impact on medical care, disability and mortality among seniors. Understanding the factors that influence the prevalence of falls is critical in order for policymakers to allocate resources where they can be most effective.

The findings of this research indicate that individual incomes among the elderly in Latin America have a low impact on the probability of falling. As income increases, the probability of falling does decrease, but the size of this effect is negligible. In fact, a 20 percent increase in income reduces the probability of falling by only 1 percent. Therefore, the authors suggest that government income transfers to seniors may not be an effective option in reducing the likelihood and costs of falls. Further research is needed into alternative approaches.

To read the full paper, please click here. To contact the Johns Hopkins International Injury Research Unit, please visit our contact page.