Welcome to the Department of Health’s
Falls prevention web page
This section of the Department of Health’s web site provides information and resources for health professionals, seniors, families and carers and others with an interest in falls prevention to help reduce the risk of falls and fall-related injuries. It includes over 90 resources many developed by organisations funded by the Victorian Government Department of Health (previously the Department of Human Services) to implement projects in residential aged care facilities and for people living independently in their own homes. Existing and new resources and tools were reviewed by the project team and recommended for inclusion based on meeting set criteria.
A number of resources, developed by organisations for their own use, have been modified in terms of content and format or layout to enable others to insert local information. In each case the organisation involved in the development of the resource has been acknowledged. For details of the resource review process.
Links to external, local, interstate and overseas resources (related websites) meeting the review criteria have been included.
Resources included on the site for the most part support residential aged care and community based falls prevention initiatives. A number of these may have relevance for the hospital setting although they may require some modification. Specific falls prevention resources for use in hospital settings can be accessed through the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care site.
Definitions of a fall
There are many definitions of a fall. For consistent recording of relevant fall-related incidents the definition promoted by the World Health Organisation and endorsed by the department is recommended:
‘A fall is an event which results in a person coming to rest inadvertently on the ground or floor or other lower level’. World Health Organisation
Contact us or feedback
If you have any questions about the falls prevention information on this site please e-mail Margaret Thomas
Go to the appropriate link for the information and resources you require:
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