World Falls Guidelines: Guidance for managing falls in care homes

The World Falls Guidelines, which were published in 2022, provide some clear and useful guidance on how best to assess for and manage falls risk for residents of care homes.

This guidance is summarised below:

• All residents should be considered at high risk of falls
• A multifactorial falls risk assessment should be completed on admission to identify factors contributing to falls risk. Appropriate interventions should then be implemented to avoid falls and falls-related injuries.
• Following a fall, an assessment should be completed in order to reassess falls risk factors, adjust the intervention strategy for the resident and avoid unnecessary hospital admissions
• All staff should be offered falls prevention training
• Nutrition for residents should be optimised, including eating food rich in calcium and proteins
• Vitamin D supplementation is advised for care home residents, as most residents are deficient
• Physical activity and exercise should be promoted to residents (when feasible and safe)
• Use of physical restraints should be avoided for the purpose for falls prevention 

For full guidance click visit the website below.

World guidelines for falls prevention