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The USC Fall Prevention Center of Excellence Marks Fall Prevention Awareness Day with New Resources for Professionals and Consumers

  • Falls are the number one cause of death from an injury among people age 65 and older. It is estimated that one in four older adults falls each year, but research has shown that many fall risks can be reduced through an assessment by a health professional, physical activity, and changes to the home and community environment.
  • New resources and research findings from the Fall Prevention Center of Excellence (FPCE) at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology seek to help reduce falls in and out of the home.

Bringing Expertise to the Street

During Fall Prevention Awareness Day on September 22, FPCE expert Emily Nabors took a walk outside live on Facebook, along with Kathleen Cameron, the Director of the National Council on Aging’s National Falls Prevention Resource Center, to highlight ways to prevent falls when out and about.  Watch the video at https://facebook.com/NCOAging/videos/1440726132649062.

Falling while outdoors is a very real risk to older people of all abilities, Nabors wrote in a blog post published on the NCOA website.

“People often think that only frail older adults need to be concerned about preventing falls,” she wrote. “However, most older adults who fall outdoors are healthier, more physically active, and take fewer medications than those who fall indoors.”

Offering Solutions Online

 Home modifications are a key part of reducing fall risk.

  • FPCE collaborated with NCOA to launch a list of home assessment tools for professionals and consumers, including information on how to help pay for needed upgrades. Visit the FPCE website to learn more.
  • FPCE’s newly-created Lifetime Home website demonstrates how home modification and universal design features can support independent living by featuring photos from actual homes.
  • For over a decade, USC’s Leonard Davis School’s online Executive Certificate in Home Modification Program has trained nearly 1000 professionals working in creating supportive housing environments for older adults.

Empowering with Education: New Research Shows Results

Recent findings from a collaboration between the USC Leonard Davis School and The Hartford Center for Mature Market Excellence found that nearly 90 percent of homeowners made home modifications, including fall prevention-friendly improvements, following receipt of educational materials about universal design.

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