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Summer 2025
Summer 2025 Issue Fall Risk: Improving Patient Safety Health Care Providers Can Improve the Statistics For older adults, falls can be a serious issue. According to the CDC, falls are the most common cause of injury and injury-related deaths among people aged 65 and older. Each year, around 3 million emergency department visits are the result of older adults’ falls, and each year, there are around 1 million fall-related hospitalizations. While more than one in four older people fall each year—and once a person has fallen, they are more than twice as likely to fall again—fewer than half go on to tell their doctor. This is why it’s so critical to start this conversation—and to talk to patients about fall prevention. Health care providers can play a critical role in preventing falls. The key is to be educated on resources, recommendations, and the latest technologies. “Health care professionals are in a key position to help patients reduce their risk of falling,” says Emily Nabors, MSG, associate director of innovation at the Center for Healthy Aging. “Even though patients do not always share that they’ve fallen, health professionals can be a great resource to provide information and point patients in the right direction to ways they can reduce their fall risk.” Since patients aren’t always forthcoming with this information, it is important that health care providers take proactive steps toward talking to their patients. Nabors says that keeping up with the latest screening tools, knowing when to refer to specialists such as physical therapists and occupational therapists, and knowing where to refer patients for receiving care services in their homes and communities can help providers play a vital role in maintaining their patients’ independence. Identifying Risk and Implementing Solutions “Fear of falling can also be a common concern amongst older adults. This can lead people to limit their physical activity,” Nabors adds. “But when you limit physical activity, this can contribute to muscle weakness and loss of mobility in general, which can actually increase the risk of falling. Patients might assume they are protecting themselves by limiting activity, but this can quickly spiral and have the opposite effect.” Identifying patients who might be at a greater risk of falling is an important step toward prevention. In terms of implementing solutions, health care providers can talk to these patients about home modifications that can increase safety, support independence and activities of daily living, “Removing hazards and barriers includes examples like removing thresholds or uneven parts of the floor, removing throw rugs, and fixing broken stairs,” Nabors says. “Adding supports includes grab bars in bathroom showers, around tubs and toilets, or enhancing the home’s lighting. And changing behaviors includes examples like keeping frequently used items nearby so that the person does not have to reach for them or travel far.” For more guidance, health professionals can point patients to their local aging department (also called Area Agency on Aging), which can help them connect to home modification programs and services in the community. Nabors says that there is also evolving technology that can help reduce the risk of falls in homes by supporting security and safety. Remote health monitoring systems with fall detection, medication management technology, and bed sensors that can alert if someone at risk of falling has gotten up can all play a role in preventing falls. There are also apps like Google Home or Amazon Alexa that can be programmed to control lighting, thermostats, and window shades to automate everyday tasks. She says many of these home technologies can support everyday living and are available at home improvement stores. Patients don’t always realize that these “smart home technologies” are more than just convenient; they can also make a home safer and support independence. Cost does not have to be a significant barrier, as many of these options have become much more affordable. And many home modifications—like removing clutter or strategically moving items around the home—are free, Nabors adds. “There are also digital health tools like watches and apps that can track physical activity, including changes in balance and mobility, which might put a person at an increased risk of falling,” Nabors says. The Patient/Provider Relationship In addition, Nabors says that the National Council on Aging (NCOA) offers a free CheckUp tool that can collect important data for health care providers. This 13-question self-assessment will generate a risk score that patients or their caregivers can then take to their health care provider. This assessment can be accessed at www.ncoa.org/tools/falls-free-checkup. Nabors says that health care providers can also use the CDC’s STEADI Algorithm for Fall Risk Screening, Assessment, and Intervention. The CDC’s “Stopping Elderly Accidents, Deaths, and Injuries” initiative has three core elements: screen, assess, and intervene. There are many resources available through the CDC for this program. Fall risk assessments, as part of Medicare patients’ Annual Wellness Visit, are an opportunity to educate and refer to specialists or community-based services, but Nabors says that it is important that health care providers are having conversations about falls with their patients frequently. “Health care providers are in a key position to help reduce older patients’ fall risk,” she says. “But it’s critical that providers start these conversations. You can ask patients if they have fallen, have come close to falling, or are worried about falling. So much of this does boil down to awareness. Patients need to know that there are things they can do once they leave your office that will support their independence.” Nabors urges health care providers to also get involved, as their voice is valuable. “Almost all states have a Falls Prevention Coalition, and they need clinicians at the table, sharing their input,” she says. “Getting involved can help you stay up to date with what’s new in falls prevention while also adding your voice to the conversation.” For more information, Nabors says that a list of State Falls Prevention Coalitions can be found at www.ncoa.org/page/state-falls-prevention-coalitions. In addition, health care providers can find out more about the NCOA’s Falls Prevention Awareness Week, which is observed on the first day of fall to raise awareness about preventing falls, at www.ncoa.org/professionals/health/center-for-healthy-aging/national-falls-prevention-resource-center/falls-prevention-awareness-week. — Lindsey Getz is an award-winning freelance writer in Royersford, Pennsylvania.
Get Ready for Falls Prevention Awareness Week In 2008, the National Council on Aging (NCOA) and partners gained bipartisan sponsorship for the first annual National Falls Prevention Awareness Day resolution in the US Senate and have obtained bipartisan sponsorship every year since then. Now expanded to a full week, NCOA hosts Falls Prevention Awareness Week each year during the first week of fall, an awareness and activation campaign designed to elevate falls education and highlight steps older adults can take to reduce their risk of falling. Falls Prevention Awareness Week provides an opportunity for organizations and agencies to engage community members and partners in falls prevention activities. This year it will be held from September 22 to 26, 2025. “An individual’s fall risk involves a variety of factors, from nutrition and medications to home environment and lifestyle choices,” says Emily Nabors, MSG, associate director of innovation at the Center for Healthy Aging. “Thus, a successful approach to falls prevention requires engagement across multiple sectors and disciplines. Health care providers and community-based organizations play distinct, yet equally valuable, roles in fall prevention.” The NCOA has put together a Falls Prevention Awareness Week Toolkit with materials that health care providers can use during this week. This includes tools for social media usage, handouts and videos, public relations materials, and more. “Falls Prevention Awareness Week provides an opportunity to engage a range of health providers in fall prevention activities,” Nabors says. “This includes training health providers and future clinicians on the role they can play in identifying and reducing falls risk among the older adults they serve, directing health partners to sources of falls prevention information and consumer resources, and engaging students in educational presentations, screenings, and assessments.” Clinical partners that engaged in falls prevention education and awareness activities in 2024 include the following: • primary care providers and staff from their offices; • hospital staff (eg, residents, nurses, nursing assistants, social workers); • physical and occupational therapists; • specialty providers (eg, podiatrists, neurologists, rheumatologists); • nursing assistants (eg, certified nursing assistants, home health aides, licensed practical nurses, medication aides); and • students pursuing careers in health and geriatric care (eg, pharmacy, physical and occupational therapy, nursing, public health, social work). Visit NCOA’s Falls Prevention Awareness Week Toolkit to learn more and find readymade resources to support your efforts: Falls Prevention Awareness Week for Professionals.
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