Tools for fall prevention in hospitals
General fall prevention
CDC National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC) - Tool kits
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury
Prevention and Control has current
technical information and excellent materials
about falls and fall-related injuries that can be used on an individual basis or
incorporated into health promotion activities aimed at reducing falls among
older adults.
CDC Tool kit to prevent senior falls
Includes the fact sheets, graphs and brochures about falls and fall
prevention for older adults
Hill-ROM - Morse instrument and fall scale
A comprehensive
training program on the use of the Morse Instrument and Fall Scale has been made available through Hill-Rom. A copy can be requested by sending an email to
safetyprograms@hill-rom.com.
Hill-ROM - Patient safety webinars
Free webinars for caregivers to achieve better outcomes, including No Falls, Clear Lungs (prevent VAP) , and Safe Skin™ Program. For more information, visit:
Merck Institute of Aging and Health Web site - Falls Toolkit
The Falls Toolkit is used for the initial evaluation and management of a
patient who experiences falls, and provides educational materials to teach
patients how to reduce their risk of falling. The five professional tools and 17 educational tools included in
the Falls Toolkit will help physicians evaluate a patient's risk of falling, and
teach patients how to reduce such a risk.
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Exercise & Physical Activity: Your Everyday Guide from the National Institute on Aging! The
NIA is part of the National Institutes of Health, and the goal of thier research is to improve the health and well-being of older adults.
Tool Kit
to prevent senior falls.
Tips to prevent falls - What YOU can do to prevent falls
Patient-oriented tips based on principle that falls are not just the result
of getting older, and are usually caused by a number of things.
U.S. Fall Prevention Programs for Seniors tool kit – Programs
Using Home
Assessment and Modification
These programs
may provide models for agencies or organizations that want to develop fall
prevention programs for older adults in community settings.
VA National Center for Patient Safety (NCPS)
Additional tools and instruments to use to prevent patient falls are available from the Department of Veterans Affairs National Center for Patient Safety.
Victorian Quality Council of Australia Tool kit
"Minimizing the risk of falls
and falls injuries: Guidelines for acute, sub-acute and residential care settings" to provide a framework model
and supporting resources to support falls prevention activity in hospital and residential care settings. The
guideline packet and all toolkit files are downloadable files and include research findings, tools, posters
and other educational materials. An instruction manual accompanies the sample spreadsheet report that can be
downloaded and used to track falls data, analyze trends, and present data from falls incident reports.
Bed safety
ASHE - Advisory on bed safety and HBSW
Although the FDA documents are useful, the American Society for Healthcare Engineering (ASHE) notes that an initial patient risk assessment remains a key initial step to bed safety procedures. See
ASHE Advisory.
ECRI - Bed system entrapment assessment kit
Kit includes the tool designed by the Hospital Bed Safety Workgroup. ECRI is providing distribution of the kit, which includes, for example, the assessment kit, checklists and videotapes. Information is provided on how to obtain the kit.
FDA Hospital Bed Safety Workgroup (HBSW) Guidance March 2006
The FDA Hospital Bed Safety Workgroup’s (HBSW),
final guidance on hospital ed design, "Guidance for Industry and FDA Staff; Hospital Bed System Dimensional and Assessment Guidance to Reduce Entrapment."
HBSW Bed safety entrapment kit
This kit contains
information and tools that can be used to assess the risk of entrapment in hospital beds.
Hospital Bed Safety Workgroup ((HBSW) modifying bed systems June 2006
The HBSWs "A Guide for Modifying Bed Systems and Using Accessories to Reduce the Risk of Entrapment," was released by the HBSW in June 2006, and focuses on modifying bed systems using add-on or replacement equipment and accessories to reduce the entrapment risks posed by openings in existing bed systems.