Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2025 Jul 16:18:4033-4044.
doi: 10.2147/JMDH.S535977. eCollection 2025.

Evidence Based Strategies for Preventing Falls in Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Xiang An  1 , YuanXin Pan  1 , ChenHong He  1 , Yi Liang  1
Affiliations
Review

Evidence Based Strategies for Preventing Falls in Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Xiang An et al. J Multidiscip Healthc. .

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate and summarize the best evidence for fall prevention measures in community-dwelling elderly individuals.

Methods: A systematic search was conducted in databases including UpToDate, BMJ Best Practice, the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Evidence-Based Healthcare Center, National Guidelines Clearinghouse, China Medical Guidelines Network, NICE, Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network, and the Ontario Nurses' Association website. Additional searches were performed in the Cochrane Library, CINAHL, PubMed, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang, and VIP databases for clinical decisions, guidelines, evidence summaries, systematic reviews, and expert consensus related to fall prevention in community-dwelling elderly individuals. The methodological quality of included literature was assessed, and evidence was extracted and synthesized based on key themes.

Results: A total of 3 guidelines, 1 expert consensus, and 12 systematic reviews were included. Twenty-six pieces of evidence were summarized across 8 areas: fall risk screening, fall risk assessment, exercise interventions, medication management, environmental safety, health education, psychological interventions, and multifactorial interventions.

Conclusion: The best evidence for fall prevention in community-dwelling elderly individuals was summarized, providing an evidence-based foundation for community healthcare providers to implement fall prevention measures.

Keywords: community; evidence-based nursing; falls; older adults; prevention.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest in this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Screening flow chart for literature.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Eckstrom E, Vincenzo JL, Casey CM, et al. American geriatrics society response to the world falls guidelines. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2024;72(6):1669–1686. doi: 10.1111/jgs.18734 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Guirguis-Blake JM, Perdue LA, Coppola EL, et al. Interventions to Prevent Falls in Older Adults: An Evidence Update for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Rockville (MD): Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US); June 2024. - PubMed
    1. Hopewell S, Adedire O, Copsey BJ, et al. Multifactorial and multiple component interventions for preventing falls in older people living in the community. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2018;7(7):CD012221. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD012221.pub2 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Dautzenberg L, Beglinger S, Tsokani S, et al. Interventions for preventing falls and fall-related fractures in community-dwelling older adults: a systematic review and network meta-analysis. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2021;69(10):2973–2984. doi: 10.1111/jgs.17375 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. de Souto Barreto P, Rolland Y, Vellas B, Maltais M. Association of long-term exercise training with risk of falls, fractures, hospitalizations, and mortality in older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Intern Med. 2019;179(3):394–405. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2018.5406 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources