Self Assessment Tool
Fall is the leading cause of injury, disability and death in older adults. It will have a significant impact on elders’ functioning, independence and quality of life.
Some elderly will even lose confidence and avoid leaving homes due to fear of falling and thus affecting their social life, putting them at the risk of depression.
Top causes of falls in elderly
- Poor vision or hearing
- Environmental hazards
- Lack of exercise
- Poor balance
- Side effects of medication
But actually, falls can be prevented with multi pronged approach to address the risk factors.
House Safety Self Assessment Tool
To identify home hazards that might present in your home that will cause you to trip or fall.
Use the checklist to find and correct/fix the hazards for every room/area in your home that might cause you to trip or fall. All items are potential risks for falls but if a wheelchair is not used, some items may not apply. For an expedited evaluation, access only places that you use frequently.
Steps to use the checklist
Step 1:
Go to each room/area of your home with this checklist; look for the hazards/ items that are listed below the picture on each page (some items may not relate to your home).
Step 2:
If the problem is present in your room/ area, check off the appropriate box. After checking all the problems, add them and write the total in the big box (Each item that gets a checkmark is a potential hazard).
Step 3:
Then go through the solutions and take the necessary action to fix those problems that are a potential hazard. Make sure that you look at assistive devices and helpful products that are indicated in the solutions section. Having them can make your home safer.
Step 4:
Add the total number of hazards in all the rooms/ areas to get a grand total.
Step 5:
Write down what actions you are planning to take or have already taken to prevent falls in the action log for your records.
Step 6:
It may be a good idea to ask your family and friends for a home safety modification or an assistive device for your birthday or holiday present. Also, talk with your friends about home safety. It can be a great gift for them to know how to prevent future falls.
Entrance to Front Door and Front Yard
The list identifies all the potential home hazards that may cause a fall. If the item applies to your home place a check in the box. Then add the total number of checks and enter it in the box below.
- Lack of railings or unstable railing
- Add at least one railing, ideally one on each wall.
- Unsafe steps (too steep/cracked)
- Have damaged or broken steps repaired.
- Unmarked or raised threshold
- Mark the end of steps or thresholds with contrasting tape or paint color to increase awareness of changes in height.
- Lack of lighting at night
- add an outdoor light fixture if not present. Add a sensor light that automatically turns on and off.
- Lack of a ramp for a wheelchair
- Have a remodeler or home contractor construct a ramp that will allow wheelchair access in and out of the home.
- Uneven/cracked pavement
- Have uneven or cracked pavement repaired. Avoid these areas if possible when walking to and from the home. You may contact local government for repair if it is a sidewalk or driveway end.
- Ice or snow on driveway/walkway
- Use a snow melter. Have snow/ice removed by a neighbor or service.
- Lack of an outdoor grab bar
- Add an outdoor grab bar next to the door.
*The numbers of correspond to the hazard in the picture and solutions on the following page.
Living Room
The list identifies all the potential home hazards that may cause a fall. If the item applies to your home place a check in the box. Then add the total number of checks and enter it in the box below.
- Presence of throw or scatter rug
- Remove a scatter rug or use a double sided rug tape or a rug pad to secure the rug to the floor.
- Presence of clutter
- Eliminate clutter on floor surfaces by placing items on shelves or storage.
- Consider donating or throwing out the items you no longer use. Avoid carpets with confusing patterns.
- Presence of electric cords across the floor
- Run your cords behind furnishings. Use extension cords to accomplish this.
- Rearrange items that must be plugged in to areas near an outlet.
- Poor lighting
- Increase wattage to allowable limits in lamps/lights.
- Add additional lamps or wall/overhead lights.
- Presence of unstable furniture
- Place a block under the shorter leg.
- If the chair or table is broken, have it repaired or replaced.
- Presence of unstable chair
- If the chair is too low, add a furniture leg riser to raise the height.
- A chair that is too high or without arms should not be used, as it will not provide you with sufficient stability to get in and out of the chair.
- Difficult to access light switches
- Add “clapper” light switch control to lamps. There are other remote control switching options for operating the lights.
- Rearrange furnishings to allow quick access to wall switch or lamps.
- Not enough space to move around
- Remove clutter or excess furniture that prevent you from moving around the room easily.
- Some items may be rearranged, but you may want to donate or throw out other items you don’t really need or use.
*The numbers correspond to the hazard in the picture and solutions on the following page.
Bathroom
The list identifies all the potential home hazards that may cause a fall. If the item applies to your home place a check in the box. Then add the total number of checks and enter it in the box below.
- Presence of unsafe bath rugs
- Use a bath rug with non-skid bottom.
- Lack of grab bars in the tub
- Add a bath grab bar on the wall or a clamp-on grab bar to the tub.
- Lack of grab bars in the shower area
- Add grab bars to the wall near the shower and on the wall where the bath faucets are.
- Lack of grab bars near the toilet
- Add a grab bar on the wall next to the toilet or toilet safety grab bars that attach at the toilet seat screws.
- Toilet is too high or low
- Add a raised toilet seat for seats that are too low.
- Consider a lower profile toilet if it is too high.
- Slippery tub (lack of bath mat, etc.)
- Add a rubber bath mat or adhesive non-skid decals to the bottom of the tub.
- Claw foot/tub that is high to get into
- Add a tub transfer bench to slide into the tub area or replace with a lower tub.
- Lack of bath chair in the shower area
- Add a bath chair along with grab bars to the tub or shower area. A tub transfer bench is helpful if you have difficulty stepping into the tub area, because you can sit and slide over into the tub area.
- Clutter
- Remove clutter from all floor areas to drawers or closets.
- Inexpensive plastic cabinets or rolling units can be purchased to store bath items.
- Incorrect placement of grab bars
- If permanently installed, hire a qualified professional to change the grab bars to the correct location and angle
* The numbers correspond to the hazard in the picture and solutions on the following page.
Staircases
The list identifies all the potential home hazards that may cause a fall. If the item applies to your home place a check in the box. Then add the total number of checks and enter it in the box below.
- Poor or lack of lighting
- Increase wattage to allowable limits in lights.
- Add additional overhead or wall lighting.
- Lack of railings
- Add at least one railing the entire length of the wall, ideally one on each side.
- Clutter
- Eliminate clutter on floors by removing and/or
- organizing items in areas near the stairs.
- Steps too steep
- Use railings for stability.
- Walk slowly up and down stairs with lights on.
- Have others carry heavy or large items up or down the stairs.
- Reduce daily use of stairs to reduce risk of falls.
- Slippery steps without tread/ carpet
* The numbers correspond to the hazard in the picture and solutions on the following page.
What’s Next?
KeeogoTM Robotic Training Centre (KRTC) is ASEAN’s first Robotic Training Center which featured Keeogo and Mirror Hand robotic device. Through the joint venture of B-Temia Asia Pte. Ltd (BTA), Wistron Medical Technology Corporation (WMT), and Rehabotics Medtech Sdn Bhd, we aim to establish many other affiliated branches throughout Asia.
We envision providing improved out-patient rehabilitation, training, and technological solutions for physical therapy professionals and their patients in need.