Fall Injury Prevention

Preventing Falls Among the Elderly

While falls are often deemed humorous when we can safely watch someone else fall (like banana peels and slapstick comedy), the reality is that falls are a grim fact of life in aging. The National Safety Council (Accident Facts, 1996) indicates that falls are the leading cause of accidental death among those over 85 years of age. Injury falls increase steadily with age, and falls are a significant predictor of declines in level of activities of daily living, of physical activity, and of social activity among older adults (Tinetti & Wiliams, 1998). These researchers conclude that "falls and fall injuries are independent predictors of functional decline in commuity-dwelling older persons. Falling is a health condition meeting all criteria for prevention: high frequency, evidence of preventability, and high burden of morbidity." (Tinetti & Williams, 1998, p. M112).

Fall Prevention Materials

The checklists and fall prevention materials reproduced below (with permission) were prepared by the Fall Injury Prevention Coalition of York, Adams and Franklin Counties (contact local Area Agencies on Aging in those counties for further information).

Fall Injury Prevention Coalition

• Preventing Falls at Home: A Home Safety Checklist
• Countdown to Fitness
• Statistics
• Safe Seniors

Another Resource: FRIENDS program, "Fall Reduction Initiative: Establishing New Directions for Safety: The Pennsylvania Department of Aging has collaborated with other organizations to produce a program manual that identifies community screening options and educational resource materials. That manual, and information on the program is available (as supplies permit) from:

Linda Bowers, State Director of Prime Time Health
Pennsylvania Department of Aging
555 Walnut Street, 5th floor
Harrisburg, PA 17101-1919
717-783-8975

New materials will be added as they are identified. Do not hesitate to contact me with questions, comments and suggestions about this (or other) topics.