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Bridget Kool receives recognition in Mexico
Bridget Kool is a researcher and PhD candidate at the School of Population Health, University of Auckland. She has recently completed the Auckland Falls Study a project funded by ACC investigating modifiable risk factors for unintentional falls at home among people of working age (25 to 60 years).
The research was conducted in the Auckland region during 2005 and 2006. Cases in the study were people who died or were admitted to hospital as a result of a fall at home. Information about the general health, lifestyle, socio-economic status, and home environment of cases was compared with the same information from a comparison group randomly selected from the general population (control group). The study found consuming alcohol in the 6 hours preceding the fall, being on 2 or more prescription medications, and not meeting the national recommendation for physical activity increased people’s risk of sustaining moderate to serious injury as the result of a fall at home. The main findings from this research are detailed in the executive summary.
Bridget recently attended the 9th World Injury Conference in Merida, Mexico, where she received the award for the best oral presentation (Unintentional Injury stream) for her presentation outlining the alcohol findings from her falls research. Papers detailing the findings of the Auckland Falls Study are currently being prepared for consideration for publication in scientific journals.
In addition to ACC funding the Auckland Falls Study Bridget is also the recipient of an ACC Career Development Award. Bridget is currently working on two other ACC funded projects including a multiregional home safety study and a trauma registry data linkage project. If you would like more information on these projects contact Peter Larking from ACC or Bridget Kool.
