VHA National Center for Patient Safety
Falls Prevention Tools for Veterans and Caregivers
The ultimate goal we have for our Veterans is to promote mobility and enhance quality of life, while preventing falls and more so falls that result in injury to the Veteran. With falls being the most common safety related event in the home, it is important to educate, you, the Veteran on how to reduce the risk of falls and fall related injuries. Many falls and injuries can be prevented through assessment of Veterans, environment, and the use of appropriate interventions.
We hope that the information here will help to guide Veterans and their family/caregivers at home or in the community to prevent fall related injuries to themselves or their loved ones.
We appreciate feedback on this effort and the materials offered. If you would like to provide us with suggestions for improving the tools available for you here or pass on stories as to how you used this information, please contact us: NCPS@va.gov.
Don't Miss Anything
We provide a wide variety tools for fall and injury prevention here; please ensure that you scroll to the bottom of this page to view all the resources we have provided.
Videos
- Video 1: Performing a Balance Assessment / Word / PDF
- Video 2: Protecting your Hips with Hip Protectors / Word / PDF
Preventing Falls and Injury in the Home and Community
The VISN 8 Patient Safety Center of Inquiry website offers a wide range of material on falls prevention.
Among the material is a brochure, Risk Factors Associated with Falling and What to Do When You Fall, provided as a guide for patients on blood thinners and the risks associated with falls.
The CDC “STEADI Program” *† also provides an array of patient educational materials, which VA clinics can incorporate into their patient education programs. The material is in the public domain and some of it is available in multiple languages.
Implementation Guide for Fall Injury Reduction
Balance Assessment Handbook
Osteoporosis Overview
A 13-minute video on osteoporosis is also available and was prepared by the VISN 8 Patient Safety Center of Inquiry, funded by Merck & Co, Inc., and produced by the University of South Florida Health Media Center.
The approach is unique, as it has a special focus on men, unlike many osteoporosis educational materials. It’s designed to teach men about osteoporosis risks, prevention and diagnosis.
- Click here to view the video: “Osteoporosis Occurs in Men, Too”
- The video is not closed captioned. Here is a transcript.
Click here for Environmental Assessment
Other Tools
- Preventing Falls Care Poster
- Hip Protectors
- Fall Prevention at Home
- Blood Thinners: Risk Factors Associated with Falling and What to Do When You Fall
Web Sites
- The Administration on Aging (HHS)*†
- American Association for Retired Persons (AARP)*†
- CDC - National Center for Injury Prevention*†
- CDC - National Center for Injury Prevention: A Toolkit to Prevent Senior Falls*†
- The CDC "STEADI Program" *† offers a variety of patient educational materials, some of which is available in multiple languages
- The Gerontological Society of America*†
- The American Geriatrics Society. Clinical Practice Guideline: Prevention of Falls in Older Persons*†
- Practicing Physician Education in Geriatrics Project: Falls Toolkit *†
- National Institute on Aging*†
- 4 Tips Minimize Injuries from Falling as You Age, from Inside Edition*†
- Learn NOT to fall
Contact
Thank you for your continued commitment to falls prevention. If you have any questions or would like more information, contact us: NCPS@va.gov.*By clicking on these links, you will leave the Department of Veterans Affairs Web site
†VA does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of the linked Web site.
