Falls Among Older Adults 

What's New?

• Program Spotlight: Hamilton County Public Health Fall Prevention Task Force
• Report: Burden of Injury in Ohio, 2000-2010
• CDC Releases the STEADI (Stopping Elderly Accidents, Deaths & Injuries) Tool Kit for Health Care Providers
• Latest Edition of Ohio Older Adults Falls Prevention Coalition News
• Fall-Related Injury Among Older Adults In Ohio Fact Sheet, 2000 - 2010

Falls are particularly harmful to older adults. Falls and fall-related injury seriously affect older adults’ quality of life and present a substantial burden to the Ohio health-care system. They surpass all other mechanisms of injury as a cause of ER visits, hospitalization and death. The following data provide clear justification of the need for fall prevention efforts. 

Falls among older adults have reached epidemic proportions.

• From 2000 to 2009, Ohioans aged 65 and older experienced a 125% increase in the number of fatal falls and 112% increase in the fall death rate.
• On average, 2.3 older Ohioans suffered fatal falls each day in 2009.  
• In 2009, there were 4 fall-related ER visits for every 100 Ohio older adults and 10 fall-related hospitalizations for every 1,000 Ohio older adults.
• Fall-related ER visit and hospitalization rates increased 61% and 51% respectively from 2002 to 2009. 

Older adults are disproportionately affected by fall-related injury.

• Fall-related ER visit and hospitalization rates for Ohioans 65 years and older are higher than rates for all other injuries combined.
• Ohioans 65 and older accounted for approximately 82% of fatal falls in 2009; while they represent only 14% of the population.
• Risk for suffering serious injury after a fall increases dramatically with advancing age. Females 85 years and older account for half of fatal falls, while they account for only 3% of the female population.

Falls are costly.

Falls among older adults cost Ohio and its residents $4.2 billion in 2003, more than two-thirds (68 percent), of the total annual costs of nonfatal, hospital-admitted falls. Direct medical costs represent only a fraction (8%) of the total cost.

Costs Associated with Falls Among Older Adults, Ages 65+, Ohio, 2003

Source: CSN Economics & Data Analysis Resource Center; Incidence based on HCUP survey data

Additional resources for prevention of falls among older adults are needed.

Due to the large and growing burden of fall-related injury in Ohio, especially among older Ohioans over 65 years, additional resources are needed at both the state and local level to implement evidence-based prevention initiatives.

Falls are not a normal part of aging.

There are simple steps that older adults can take to reduce their risk for a fall. Additional resources including checklists and brochures are available from the CDC at: http://www.cdc.gov/homeandrecreationalsafety/falls/index.html

State Plan for Preventing Falls Among Older Adults

Through a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Core Injury grant, the Ohio VIPP established the Ohio Injury Prevention Partnership (OIPP) in November of 2007. The purpose of the OIPP is to bring together a group of multi-disciplinary professionals from across the state to identify priority injury issues and develop strategies to address them. Falls among older adults are one of the OIPP’s priorities and the members recommended the formation of a specific group to address the issue. In November of 2009 the Ohio Older Adults Falls Prevention Coalition was formed and a statewide partnership worked together to develop a 2010-2014 state plan.

Last Reviewed 1/25/13