Older Adult Falls: Effective Approaches to Prevention

The issue of older adult falls combines a problem with high incidence and high injury susceptibility with an increasing population at risk. A firm understanding of both fall risk factors and effective strategies is required to reduce risk and prevent these injuries.

Each year, 28.7% of older adults aged ≥65 sustain a fall. At the national level, this represents 29 million falls resulting in 27,000 deaths and 7 million injuries requiring medical treatment or restricted activity for at least 1 day. There are several strategies that have been shown to effectively reduce the risk or the incidence of falls.

More than 90% of older adults see a medical provider at least once a year providing an opportunity to identify and address fall risk factors. Comprehensive fall prevention in the primary care setting is both feasible and practical.