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Updated: Jul 19, 2026

Design and Analysis for Fall Detection System Simplification
Published on: April 6, 2020
Fall risk assessment measures: an analytic review.
K L Perell1, A Nelson, R L Goldman
1Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Service, VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System - West Los Angeles Healthcare Center, California 90073, USA. Karen.Perell@med.va.gov
Clinicians can confidently select from numerous validated fall risk assessment scales, avoiding the need to create new ones. Many tools exist, assessing similar patient factors for effective fall prevention programs.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Clinical Assessment
- Patient Safety
Background:
- Clinicians often lack awareness of available fall risk assessment scales.
- Uncertainty exists regarding the selection of appropriate fall risk identification tools.
Purpose of the Study:
- To summarize existing fall risk assessment scales.
- To enable informed choices for clinicians regarding scale selection and use.
Main Methods:
- Systematic literature search identifying 21 articles (1984-2000).
- Review of 20 fall risk assessment scales by a five-reviewer panel.
- Classification into 14 institution-focused nursing scales and 6 functional scales.
Main Results:
- Most scales target elderly populations in healthcare settings.
- Patient characteristics assessed are similar across nursing scales.
- Diagnostic accuracy varied (sensitivity median 80%, specificity median 75%), with superior scales identified.
Conclusions:
- Numerous fall risk assessment tools are available, assessing similar patient characteristics.
- Several validated scales can be used confidently in falls prevention programs.
- Developing unique facility-specific scales may be counterproductive due to lack of comparability.
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