Environmental Causes of Falls

Environmental Causes of Falls - #81

Take Quiz

Identifying and decreasing environmental risk factors for falls.

Elderly patients who have fallen or are at elevated risk for falls.

Use the diagram above to identify environmental risk factors for falls and to consider environmental interventions that may decrease falls.

  1. List 5 environmental risk factors that may predispose an older adult to fall.
  2. List 3 practical ways, which could be communicated to patients and caregivers, for reducing environmental fall risks in the home.
  1. Carpenter CR, Cameron A, Ganz DA, Liu S. Older adult falls in emergency medicine- A sentinel event. Clinics of Geriatric Medicine- Geriatric Emergency Department, Malone ML, Biese K, eds. Elsevier publishing. 2018 in press.
  2. Malone ML, Risk for Falls in Older Adults, Aurora Health Care Geriatric Emergency Department Monthly Newsletter, Feb 2018.
  3. Michael YL, Whitlock EP, Lin JS, Fu R, O’Connor EA, Gold R; US Preventive Services Task Force.  Primary care-relevant interventions to prevent falling in older adults: a systematic evidence review for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.  Ann Intern Med.2010 Dec 21;153(12):815-25. 
This GFF ___ my competence in geriatrics.

Michael L. Malone, MD, Aurora Sinai Medical Center, Clinical Adjunct Professor, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health