The first report shows that the GALA has encouraged cooperation: working together to improve health has become more urgent and self-evident. Not all regions have taken this up at the same pace; this often depends on what had already been established in terms of cooperation and prevention. The GALA Monitor also indicates that there is uncertainty regarding how long the plans resulting from the GALA will continue to be funded and that it is difficult to connect the health themes to each other. It was not expected that changes in health outcomes would already show in this short term,  since health gains take time. RIVM emphasises that the activities agreed under the GALA should continue beyond the term of the agreement. The next publication of the GALA Monitor is expected in June 2025.

Fall Prevention Monitor

Alongside the GALA Monitor, RIVM also published the Fall Prevention Monitor today. This concerns the chain approach to fall prevention that was adopted in 2023, which is one of the five chain approaches under the GALA. In this chain approach, the central government, municipalities and care insurers are working together to identify elderly people who are more likely to fall and to reduce the risk of accidents. RIVM has been asked to monitor the progress of this approach and report on this annually.

Municipalities pay more attention to fall prevention

The report shows that in more and more municipalities fall prevention is being offered to people aged 65 and over. In total, 271 municipalities (82%) have indicated that they have started the implementation of the chain approach to fall prevention. In 265 municipalities, at least one of the three certified fall prevention courses is being offered to comunity-dwelling older adults who are more likely to fall. Among other things, fall prevention teaches comunity-dwelling older adults to train their muscles and sense of balance in order to prevent falls. Municipalities and care insurers are working with a variety of care and well-being providers to identify which older adults are more likely to fall and would therefore benefit from fall prevention.

Opportunities to improve implementation

While the Fall Prevention Monitor shows thar efforts are being made in many areas, there are still opportunities to improve implementation of the Fall prevention chain approach. An important bottleneck is the discussion regarding which professionals are qualified to carry out the fall risk factor assessment (GP practices, physiotherapists or occupational therapists). Working together to find solutions for the bottlenecks are needed to take the implementation of the fall prevention chain approach to the next level.

If you are interested in regional data, visit this page about the GALA and this page about the chain approach to fall prevention on the regiobeeld.nl website.