Since 2008, NCOA has hosted Falls Prevention Awareness Week during the first week of autumn in September. As the national public health campaign recognizing the importance of falls prevention, Falls Prevention Awareness Week encourages states and communities to raise awareness about the impact of falls and the various evidence-based strategies proven to reduce and prevent them.  Some states and communities observe Falls Prevention Awareness Week by hosting falls prevention events, others organize falls risk screening and health fairs to showcase evidence-based falls prevention programs available in the community. While resources and time are required to host these events, one low-cost and highly effective thing strategy is simply having a discussion about falls.  

Ways you can talk about falls with an older adult

Talking is one of the easiest ways to create awareness and spark action. You don’t have to be a falls expert to talk with an older adult and their health care providers about falls prevention. And it also shouldn't deter you from speaking with other family, friends, and neighbors. Falls are serious but talking about them doesn’t have to be.  

Use these four tips to talk about falls 

• Be open and kind: Ask questions, share a fact, or share your own experience (here are some falls prevention success stories to also consider). 
• Avoid blame: Nobody is at fault for a fall. Provide solutions that do not make the person feel judged.  
• Be assertive: Show that you care by how you deliver your message. Use “I” statements to let others know how you are thinking and feeling.  
• Listen: Sometimes no solution will make an older adult feel better about falling. Be there and listen to their concerns and give support when they are ready for the next step in reducing falls. 

For more reasons why you should talk about falls and ways you can start the conversation, download our Let's Talk About Falls handout.

Additional resources

• Use NCOA's Falls Prevention Conversation Guide for Caregivers if you or the person you are caring for has had a fall, is experiencing decreased mobility, is unsteady on their feet, or is fearful of falling.  
• Use the MyHealthfinder Preventing Falls: Conversation Starters for tips to talk to your loved one about preventing falls 
• Review the action steps in the Family Caregivers: Protect You Loved Ones from Falling brochure, developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Stopping Elderly Accidence, Deaths, & Injuries (STEADI) initiative. 
• Encourage the use of NCOA's Falls Free CheckUp, a falls prevention screening that will help you or someone you're caring for learn more about falls prevention tips and risk factors for falls. 

This project was supported, in part by grant number 90FPSG0051 from the U.S. Administration for Community Living, Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C. 20201. Grantees undertaking projects under government sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their findings and conclusions. Points of view or opinions do not, therefore, necessarily represent official Administration for Community Living policy.