National Fall Prevention Month 2022

November is National Fall Prevention Month. The goal of this awareness campaign is to equip health practitioners and service providers, businesses, and government with the evidence-informed resources to raise awareness and engage their communities in preventing falls and fall-related injuries. Raising awareness of the burden and impact of fall-related injuries for Canadians is important and encourages everyone to acknowledge their role in preventing falls and fall-related injuries throughout their lives. When organizations coordinate their efforts for fall prevention, we can anticipate a larger impact.

New Report on Fall Prevention

In time for National Fall Prevention Month, Public Health Ontario (PHO) has released a new report on fall prevention for older adults that provides information on fall prevention indicators. A product related to child fall prevention is planned for release later in 2022.

Fall-related injuries are a serious public health issue in Ontario, and can greatly impact both the individual and their family. Every year since 2011, falls have accounted for over 65% of injury-related hospitalizations among adults aged 65 to 74 and over 80% for those over 75 years.

For older adults in Canada, falls are a frequent experience and have immediate physical consequences, including injuries, and represent the leading cause of injury-related emergency department visits and hospital admissions. In addition to the personal impact, falls cost Canadians $10.3 billion annually from both direct and indirect health care costs.

Check out our updated Injuries webpage for additional documents and resources on falls, as well as other injuries, which are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in Ontario.