Parachute offered the fifth Canadian Fall Prevention Conference as an online event, Nov. 16 to 20, 2020.
Video recordings for nine of the 10 conference offerings – all but the Friday afternoon session – are now available to view: please check them out in the resources section, below the agenda information.
We co-ordinated a series of digital presentations focused on Connecting Communities: Fall Prevention Across the Lifespan. The content is relevant for:
- early educators
- healthcare professionals
- researchers
- community partners
This virtual conference held two sessions daily, addressing the key issues of:
- Children’s falls
- Falls among older adults
- Vulnerable populations and special considerations in falls across the lifespan.
Session recordings will be made available to view at a later date.
Conference speakers
The conference featured speakers from across Canada, working in various sectors including health care, public health and injury prevention.

Dr. Mariana Brussoni: Popping the bubble wrap: Making Space for Risky Play
Dr. Mariana Brussoni is a developmental psychologist and Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics and the School of Population and Public Health at the University of British Columbia. She is an investigator with the British Columbia Children’s Hospital Research Institute and the British Columbia Injury Research & Prevention Unit. Mariana investigates child injury prevention and children’s risky play, focusing on parent and caregiver perceptions of risk, and design of outdoor play-friendly environments.

Dr. Vicky Scott: Pan-Canadian Fall Prevention Training: Current and Future Opportunities
Dr. Vicky Scott is a Clinical Professor with the School of Population and Public Health at the University of British Columbia. She has led, or co-led, over forty studies on seniors’ mobility, fall and injury prevention. She is the lead for the Canadian Fall Prevention Curriculum and author on 29 peer-reviewed publications, numerous technical reports and the 2017 book on Fall Prevention Programming. Dr. Scott is also Co-chair of the Indigenous Fall Prevention Network.

Dr. Anita Chakravarti: Staying Well During a Pandemic
Dr. Anita Chakravarti, M.D. (USask ’82) Anesthesiology (UofA ’87) is a professor and Wellness Lead at Continuing Medical Education and a member of the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan. She continues to be Associate Faculty at the Centre of Integrative Medicine. Currently, she works to develop Wellness Programming in College of Medicine and collaborates with provincial institutions to develop Health Care Provider Resources and Support. Dr. Chakravarti is a certified Facilitator and Faculty of Mindful Practice ®.
Agenda
Children’s Falls: November 16, 2020
12PM EST to 1PM EST | ||
Presentation Title | Presenter | Organization |
Popping the bubble wrap: Making Space for Risky Play | Dr. Mariana Brussoni | B.C. Children’s Hospital Research Institute,University of British Columbia |
3PM EST to 4PM EST | ||
Preventing Childhood Falls | Cara Zukewich | Saskatchewan Prevention Institute |
Childhood Fall Prevention: Connecting the Dots | Hélène Gagné | Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation |
Falls Among Older Adults, Part 1: November 17, 2020
12PM EST to 1PM EST | ||
Presentation Title | Presenter | Organization |
Steppin’ Up with Confidence Plus: The Development and Delivery of a Community Falls Prevention Exercise Program | Kristine MacDonald | Prairie Mountain Health |
Care Communities – An Opportunity for Upstream Fall Prevention | Phyllis Hegstrom | Home Instead Senior Care |
Remembering When – Fire Departments Working to Prevent Fire and Falls | Dori Krahn | Saskatoon Fire Department |
3PM EST to 4PM EST | ||
Finding Balance: Preventing Older Adult Falls in an Evolving Context | Nan Shybunka | Injury Prevention Centre, School of Public Health, University of Alberta |
Medications and Fall Risk: Educational Outreach as an Intervention Strategy | Loren Regier | Canadian Academic Detailing Collaboration (RxFiles AD and CEP AD) |
Medication Prescribed to Ontario Older Adults One Year prior to a fall-related injury | Yu Ming | Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Western University |
Falls Risk Assessment and Management for Community-Dwelling Older Adults: Developing a BC Clinical Practice Guideline | Denise Beaton Megan Oakey | British Columbia Centre for Disease Control |
Falls Among Older Adults, Part 2: November 18, 2020
12PM EST to 1PM EST | ||
Presentation Title | Presenter | Organization |
Strong, Balanced and FAST: Working Together to Prevent Fall-Related Injuries in Older Adults | Dr. Cathy Arnold | School of Rehabilitation Science, University of Saskatchewan |
Assessing mobility and safety of people with dementia using mobility aids to prevent falls | Dr. Susan Hunter | School of Physical Therapy, University of Western Ontario |
3PM EST to 4PM EST | ||
#FallPreventionCanada | Valerie Smith | Parachute |
Functional Independence in Acute Care | Suzanne Baker | Nova Scotia Health |
The Injury Pyramid of Impacts and Injuries to Body Parts from Video-Captured Falls in Long-term-care | Dr. Vicki Komisar | Simon Fraser University |
Vitamin D Supplementation for the Prevention of Falls and Fractures in Residents of Long-Term Care | Kathleen Kulyk | Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH) |
Seniors’ Falls in Canada | Wendy Thompson Joanne Bowater | Public Health Agency of Canada |
Vulnerable Populations and Special Considerations in Falls Across the Life Span, A Focus on Indigenous Peoples: November 19, 2020
12PM EST to 1:30PM EST | ||
Presentation Title | Presenter | Organization |
Pan-Canadian Fall Prevention Training: Current and Future Opportunities | Dr. Vicky Scott | School of Population and Public Health at the University of British Columbia |
Indigenous Fall Prevention Network: An Overview | Dr. Kathy Belton | Injury Prevention Centre, School of Public Health, University of Alberta |
3PM EST to 4PM EST | ||
It takes a village to prevent a fall – how Loop helps you stay connected and informed | Shameeza Allard | Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation |
Vulnerable Populations and Special Considerations in Falls Across the Life Span, A Focus on Women: November 20, 2020
12PM EST to 1PM EST | ||
Presentation Title | Presenter | Organization |
Balance Flow Yoga: A Community-Based Intervention for Peri- and Post- Menopausal Women | Dr. Brenna Bath Dr. Cathy Arnold Shelly Prosko | School of Rehabilitation Science, University of Saskatchewan Prosko PhysioYoga |
3PM EST to 4PM EST | ||
Staying Well During a Pandemic | Dr. Anita Chakravarti | Continuing Medical Education and Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan |