Fall Prevention Checklist

Reducing Your Risk (& Your Fear) Of Falling
With A Little Common Sense, Many Falls CAN Be Prevented

As you grow older the consequences of a fall become much more serious. For older people, falling is the leading causes of broken bones, disability, declining quality of life, and even death.

Even when people fall and don’t get hurt, the fear of falling again often causes them to alter (or limit) the way they live their lives.

According to the Centers For Disease Control (CDC)

• More than 1/3 of adults 65 years of age and older fall each year
• Among older adults, falls are the leading cause of injury deaths and the most common cause of injuries & admissions to hospitals for trauma.
• Older adults are hospitalized for fall related injuries five times more often than they are for injuries for other reason.
• Of those who fall, 20% to 30% suffer moderate to severe injuries that reduce mobility & independence, and increase the risk of premature death
• Falls & fall related injuries are more common than strokes and the life-changing results can be just as serious.

Even though many falls and the resulting injuries from falls are preventable, fall prevention is not yet viewed as an important public health issue.

Some strategies known to be effective in preventing falls in older adults are:

• Exercise and physical therapy to improve strength, balance & flexibility. Exercises do not need to be elaborate or require special equipment but they do need to be done regularly.
• Better management of medications that may affect balance and alertness.
• Home modifications to reduce hazards. Home modifications could include installing grab bars, improving lighting and removing clutter that may cause tripping.
• Appropriate foot care & footwear can also play a role in reducing the risk of falling.
• More frequent eye examinations Obviously, being able to see and avoid hazards will help to prevent falls
• Eliminating (& being aware of) hazards in public places is also a key strategy in reducing falls.

The Risk Factors
Risk factors can be broken into three general categories

• Personal Risk Factors
• Environmental Risk Factors - At Home
• Environmental Risk Factors - Away From Home

Below is a general Fall Prevention Checklist. Review the list and compile a list of specific things that could reduce your risk of falling.

FALL PREVENTION TIPS
Personal Fall Prevention Tips:

• Take your time, be deliberate & be careful. i.e. At home never rush to answer the phone. Carry & use a portable phone or, if you miss a call, use caller ID to see who called.
• Have your eyes examined regularly. No matter how careful you may try to be, impaired vision will limit your ability to notice tiny items in your path that are often the most troublesome tripping hazards.
• Be aware of the effects of your medications. If you sometimes experience dizziness or troubles with your balance, make a habit of pausing a few seconds each time you stand up before attempting to walk across the room.
• Always wear proper footwear. Sturdy, supportive shoes with thin non-slip soles are recommended. Never walk in stocking feet. Slippers, and other loose fitting shoes, are dangerous. Shoes with thick soles are also dangerous.
• Know your abilities & limitations. If your doctor recommends that you use a cane for balance, don’t be proud … use it. It is better to go for a walk with a cane, than to sit in an arm chair and not walk at all. (Of course, talking a walk and refusing to use the cane is inviting a trip to the hospital.)
• Exercise regularly to maintain & improve your strength, balance & flexibility.

Environmentally Caused Falls
Environmentally caused falls can usually be attributed to one or more of the following:

• Poor lighting
• Tripping hazards
• Reaching hazards

So in general you should strive to improve lighting, eliminate tripping hazards and use common sense when reaching or bending.

Environmental Fall Prevention Tips - At Home
General

• Make sure all areas of the home are well lit.
• Replace burned out bulbs immediately.
• Use night lights. They are inexpensive and invaluable in improving visibility at night, especially in hallways, bathrooms & bedrooms.
• Never enter a dark room. It is desirable to have a wall switch that operates a light at the entrance to each room or an easy-to-use lamp at the entrance to each room.
• Create wide, unobstructed pathways in all rooms. Move your furniture to the sides of the rooms and out of the way.
• Eliminate throw rugs. They are notorious slipping/tripping hazards.
• Do NOT leave objects on the floor (i.e papers, magazines, books shoes, boxes, blankets, towels, toys, etc.).
• Reduce the number of extension cords in the house and make sure the ones that are in use are not in areas where you might walk.
• Locate a telephone where it can be reached from the floor, in case you happen to fall and are unable to get up.
• When pets (or children) are in the home, keep an eye on them & be alert. They can dart into your path very suddenly & unexpectedly
• When you carry packages, make sure they are small enough to be carried with one hand … leaving your other hand free to hold onto railings.
• Also when carrying things, make sure whatever you are carrying does not prevent you from seeing where you are walking. (i.e. a large laundry basket might obstruct your ability to see what is on the floor directly in front of you)

Stairways
Stairways are very high risk areas for falls.

• ALL stairways must be in good repair. Loose or worn treads & carpet are sure to cause an accident.
• Remove all objects from the stairway. There should never be any clutter or objects left on the stairs … not even for a few minutes.
• ALL stairways must be well lit. Ideally, there should be adequate lighting at the top & the bottom of the stairway and a wall switch to control the stairway lights from BOTH the top and bottom of the stairway.
• ALL stairways must have securely fastened handrails on BOTH sides on the stairway. These handrails should extend to the top & bottom of the stairs and the ends of the handrail should turn in towards the wall.
• If the stairways are carpeted, the carpet must have a short nap, be securely fastened to the stairs, and should NOT have a busy pattern. Dark colored, or deep pile & shag carpets are hazardous and should not be used on stairs.
• You must be able to clearly see the outline of each step. Contrasting color, abrasive grip strips on the treads are sometimes helpful. The edges of outdoor concrete steps can be painted with brightly colored, rough textured, traction improving paint.

Bathroom
Soap & water will make any surface more slippery and hazardous.

• The floors of tubs & showers must have no-skid strips or non-skid surfaces.
• Tubs & showers must have a grab bar securely fastened to the wall. If you have balance problems, a bath seat/bench and a hand held shower will make things a lot easier and a lot safer.
• The bathroom floor should be a “non-slippery” surface. If you use bath mats, they must have rubberized backing to prevent the mat from moving.
• If you are having difficulty getting on & off the toilet, consider installing a raised toilet seat with armrests (or a taller toilet) and install a grab bar on the wall next to the toilet.
• Replace glass shower enclosures with non-shattering materials.

Kitchen

• Make sure the room is well lit.
• Avoid reaching. Store items, that you use frequently, on lower shelves or in easy-to-reach locations. If you must reach up for something, use a sturdy step stool with a handle or bar to hold onto. Never, never stand on a chair.
• Clean up spills from the floor immediately. Do not use floor wax on the floor.

Bedrooms

• Have a lamp or a light switch within reach of your bed
• Use nightlights to light your way, in case you have to get up to use the bathroom. Inexpensive night lights that are activated automatically after dark are readily available.
• Keep a working flashlight within reach of your bed.
• Remove floor clutter

Environmental Fall Prevention Tips - Away From Home
Once you leave your home, you are venturing into “unfamiliar territory”. Your safety depends upon your being vigilant about the variety of “tripping & slipping hazards” that exist in public places.

• Always wear appropriate footwear.
• Be on the lookout for uneven surfaces or changes in elevation. i.e. crosswalks, streets with curbs, parking lots, cracked sidewalks, etc
• Beware of stairs - poorly lit stairways, stairways without handrails, and stairways with unusually wide treads or low (or unequal) risers are especially dangerous.
• Be extra careful in places with poor lighting - i.e. movie theaters - inform the management of your concern.
• Beware of shiny floors. Shiny = slippery. Polished hardwood floors & shiny ceramic (or marble) tile floors are very slippery … especially when wet.
• Look out for wet leaves or moss. Stepping on wet leaves (or mossy surfaces) is like stepping on a banana peel.
• Snow, ice & rain make for slippery footing. If you can’t stay indoors, take extra care when you go out. Before you get out of a car, test the surface for traction before standing up to walk. In the winter, what appears to be wet pavement is often a very thin, very slippery layer of ice.