PROF HYLTON MENZ
Discipline of Podiatry, School of Allied Health, Human Services and Sport
La Trobe University
Footwear and Falls in Long-Term Residential Aged Care Facilities: An Analysis of Video Capture Data
Several footwear characteristics have been shown to affect balance and gait patterns and may therefore influence the risk of falling in older adults. However, attributing a link between footwear and falls is inherently difficult as it often relies on self-report which may be inaccurate. In this study, we used data collected from video recordings of falls that occurred in two long-term residential aged care facilities. Videos were initially screened to determine whether the footwear worn at the time (barefoot, socks, slippers/sandals, or shoes) could be documented. These falls were then independently evaluated by three additional assessors and a meeting was held to obtain consensus in relation to whether the footwear could have potentially contributed to the fall, and what mechanism may have been responsible. There were 300 falls experienced by 118 older adults aged 58 years–98 years (mean age 82.8 years, SD 7.6). Of these falls, footwear could be ascertained in 224 (75%). The proportion of falls considered to be potentially related to footwear was 40 (18%). The likelihood of footwear contributing to the fall was highest when participants were wearing socks (14/19 falls; 74% of all footwear-related falls), followed by being barefoot (2/6 falls; 33%), wearing slippers/sandals (17/100 falls; 17%), and wearing shoes (7/99 falls, 7%). It is concluded that footwear could be a potential contributor to a substantial number of falls in residential aged care. Wearing socks would appear to place an older person at risk of future falls and should therefore be avoided in this population.
Biography
Professor Hylton Menz graduated with first class Honours and the University Medal from La Trobe University in 1993, and completed his PhD in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of New South Wales in 2002. He received continual National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia fellowship funding between 2003 and 2022. Professor Menz's broad research disciplines are human movement, rehabilitation and rheumatology, with a particular focus on musculoskeletal foot problems in older people. His research extends from laboratory-based biomechanical studies through to analysis of epidemiological datasets and the conduct of clinical trials.
Professor Menz has published 390 journal publications, 3 books and 19 book chapters. His work has been cited over 22,000 times and his Scopus h-index is 79. He has won several awards for his research, including the Young Tall Poppy Award by the Australian Institute for Policy and Science, the La Trobe University Excellence in Research Award, first prize in the British Medical Association Book Awards for his textbook Foot Problems in Older People: Assessment and Management, a Fulbright Senior Scholarship to Harvard University, a La Trobe University Excellence in Graduate Research Supervision Award (with Prof Karl Landorf and Prof Shannon Munteanu) and a La Trobe University Overall Research Excellence Award. In 2016, he was awarded a Doctor of Science from the University of New South Wales, and in 2020 he became the first podiatrist to be inducted into the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences.
Professor Menz's current research focuses on the epidemiology and management of foot disorders in older people, with a particular emphasis on non-surgical treatments for osteoarthritis. He is currently co-chair of the Australian Foot and Ankle Research Network, co-chair of the Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT) Foot and Ankle Working Group, serves on the steering committee of the International Foot and Ankle Osteoarthritis Consortium, and is a member of the Australian Government's Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) Review Advisory Committee.
Conference Organisers
ApodA staff: Phil McShane, Katrina Den Elzen, Pauline Taylor and Sara Virgo
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