Guarding against deadly falls

USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), March, 2005

Americans have much room for improvement when it comes to preventing falls that cause serious injuries or death, a study by University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Injury Prevention Research Center staff concludes. "We found that 70% of U.S. households have stairs with four or more steps, but a third of households have at least one set of stairs with no railing," notes Stephen W. Marshall, assistant professor of epidemiology and orthopedics at the Schools of Public Health and Medicine. "Only 25% of homes have grab bars and handrails in the bathroom, and only 25% use window guards or locking devices that could prevent children from falling out."

"We compared households with different demographic and home structure characteristics, determining that fall hazards are prevalent in many types of households, and use of fall prevention devices is limited," Marshall explains. "Clearly, there is ample opportunity to increase the use of protective devices and further limit the presence of fall hazards in the vast majority of U.S. homes."

With the population aging, more fatal and injury-causing falls can be expected in the future if safety is not improved in homes, he cautions. Seven percent of study households reported that someone in or around their home had sustained a fall requiring medical attention in the previous 12 months. "Falls are the second most common cause of unintentional injury death after motor vehicle crashes and the most common cause of hospital trauma," Marshall concludes. "Falls are especially problematic for older adults. It is estimated that one in every three persons over age 65 falls every year in the United States."