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Falls assessment and prevention

A Canadian clinical summary of falls assessment and prevention, with source-attributed priorities and explicit jurisdiction boundaries.

JurisdictionCanada
Source check2026-08-20
Clinical reviewiatroX editorial team 路 Clinical editorial review 路 reviewed 2026-08-20 路 due 2027-08-20
AudienceHealthcare professionals practising in Canada
This is an iatroX educational summary of named Canada sources, not an official guideline. It does not replace the complete source documents, local policy, specialist advice or clinical judgement. Ontario is used as an explicit Canadian implementation example, not as a national rule. Verify the equivalent pathway, formulary and escalation route in the patient鈥檚 province or territory.

Ontario source: bounded use

Falls: Care for Adults at Risk of Falls supplies a Canadian implementation example for this summary. It must not be presented as the rule outside Ontario.
sources for this section:Ontario falls quality standard

Source-attributed clinical priorities

  • Assess injuries and acute illness, then review gait, balance, orthostatic blood pressure, vision, feet, cognition and fall-risk medicines.
  • Use multifactorial interventions targeted to identified risks, including strength and balance work and environmental modification.
  • Avoid substituting indiscriminate testing or restraints for a cause-focused assessment and shared prevention plan.
  • Ask what the person was doing and what they remember before, during and after each fall to identify syncope or seizure.
sources for this section:Ontario falls quality standard

Practical assessment and management workflow

1
Treat injury and acute illness, then document fall frequency, circumstances and ability to get up.
2
Assess gait and balance, orthostatic blood pressure, vision, feet, cognition, continence and home hazards.
3
Review sedatives, antihypertensives, hypoglycemic agents and other fall-risk medicines with indications intact.
4
Implement targeted strength, balance, footwear, environmental and bone-health actions and review subsequent falls.
sources for this section:Ontario falls quality standard

Safety, red flags and urgent escalation

  • Syncope, chest pain, focal deficit, major injury or inability to mobilize needs urgent assessment.
  • Do not use restraints as fall prevention; they can increase injury and delirium.
  • Assess osteoporosis after a low-trauma fracture and address recurrent prolonged time on the floor.
sources for this section:Ontario falls quality standard

Confirm the local pathway before acting

Ontario is used as an explicit Canadian implementation example, not as a national rule. Verify the equivalent pathway, formulary and escalation route in the patient鈥檚 province or territory.
sources for this section:Ontario falls quality standard

Source and implementation boundary

Read this educational summary with the linked source, current Canadian product information where medicines are involved, and the applicable provincial or territorial pathway. Local formularies, reporting duties, referral routes and service availability can differ.
sources for this section:Ontario falls quality standard

Source documents

Use the linked source documents for complete recommendations, evidence grading, exclusions and implementation detail.

  1. Ontario HealthFalls: Care for Adults at Risk of Fallsaccessed 2026-08-20
    view source
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