November is Fall Prevention Month

"It takes a community to prevent a fall; we all have a role to play"

Falls are the leading cause of injury among older Canadians: 20 to 30 per cent of seniors experience one or more falls each year. Falls are the cause of 85 per cent of hospitalizations for Canadian seniors.  The average Canadian senior stays in hospital 10 days longer for falls than for any other cause. The cost to treat injuries from falls, is over $2 billion annually in direct healthcare costs.

The Fall Prevention Month partners have put together a plethora of resources to help promote Fall Prevention Month.  The toolkit includes suggestions for quick and simple activities; promotional materials (logo, sample media releases, social media guide, etc.); the most-up-to-date fall statistics and infographics; information such as handouts, links and self-assessments for clients and caregivers; practitioner resources; evidence-informed and evaluated programs and interventions; and simple surveys to evaluate and track fall initiatives in your organization. Click here to download the toolkit free-of-charge.

The toolkit also includes links to publications available in French, Chinese, Korean, Polish, Russian, Serbian-Croatian, Spanish, Urdu, Vietnamese, and for First Nations communities.

Visit www.oninjuryresources.ca for more information on Fall Prevention Month.  Check back often, as additional resources will be added in the coming weeks.