NCOA is committed to changing the trajectory of falls-related injuries by helping older adults gain the confidence and skills needed to prevent a fall. 

Every year we spearhead Falls Prevention Awareness Week (FPAW), an awareness and activation campaign that reaches millions of people. Learn more about the impact of these efforts by reading our reports below. 

Falls Prevention Awareness Week 2025 Impact Report

The 18th Annual Falls Prevention Awareness Week 41 states and reached over 17 million people through education, falls risk screening, advocacy, and both digital and traditional media.

During 2025, 41,200 people completed the Falls Free® CheckUp, with more than half completing the checkup during FPAW. Of those users, most were at an elevated risk for a fall, reinforcing the continued need for both medication-focused interventions and strength and balance programming.  By embedding the Falls Free CheckUp within community events and clinical touchpoints, partners help ensure that Falls Prevention Awareness Week extends beyond information sharing and into actionable prevention planning. 

Every year during Falls Prevention Awareness Week, state falls prevention coalitions, community-based organizations, and others use a variety of techniques to raise awareness about falls prevention. This year's activities helped show how innovation often happens at the local level, where partners design creative approaches tailored to their communities.

That innovation included:

• Falls risk screening—In South Dakota, Sanford Medical Center nursing students conducted STEADI screenings in an internal medicine clinic under the mentorship of a registered nurse. Granite VNA in Colorado hosted a balance screening in a town library that had not previously participated in falls prevention activities. 
• Awareness and education—The NC Falls Prevention Coalition/NC Center for Health and Wellneses launched a statewide "STEPtember" campaign integrating falls prevention messaging into a month-long walking challenge. In Illinois, AgeOptions/IL Falls Prevention Coalition created personalized screening results handouts with actionable, individualized recommendations. 
• Advocacy—The King County Falls Prevention Coalition convened a virtual statewide forum featuring real-time data updates from the Washington State Department of Health, fostering cross-county collaboration and data-informed advocacy. 
• Partnerships—The Northeast Florida Area Health Education Center brought together the Daytona- Halifax Lions Club for free vision screenings and the UNF Physical Therapy Doctoral Program for balance assessments at its Falls-Free Festivals. 

Download the full 2025 Falls Prevention Awareness Week Impact Report.

Falls Prevention Awareness Week impact throughout the years

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.