U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

Falls Prevention in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: Interventions

About this resource:

Systematic Review

Source: U.S. Preventive Services Task Force

Last Reviewed: April 2018

Workgroups: Injury and Violence Prevention Workgroup, Older Adults Workgroup

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends exercise interventions to prevent falls in community-dwelling adults age 65 years or older who are at increased risk for falls. USPSTF also recommends offering multifactorial interventions to prevent falls for some people in this population. Specifically, USPSTF recommends that health care providers consider any previous falls and medical conditions, as well as a patient’s values and preferences. In addition, USPSTF recommends against providing vitamin D supplements to prevent falls in this population.

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Objectives related to this resource (5)

Reduce fatal injuries — IVP‑01
Getting worse
Reduce unintentional injury deaths — IVP‑03
Getting worse
Reduce emergency department visits for nonfatal unintentional injuries — IVP‑04
Target met or exceeded
Reduce fall-related deaths among older adults — IVP‑08
Getting worse
Reduce the rate of emergency department visits due to falls among older adults — OA‑03
Baseline only

Suggested Citation

1.

U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. (2018). Final update summary: Falls prevention in community-dwelling older adults: Interventions. Retrieved from https://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/recommendation/falls-prevention-in-older-adults-interventions