Guideline Purpose and Scope

The purpose of this guideline is to increase nurses’ confidence, knowledge, skills and abilities in the identification of adults within health care facilities at risk of falling and to define interventions for the prevention of falling.
It does not include interventions for prevention of falls and fall injuries in older adults living in community settings.
The guideline has relevance to areas of clinical practice including acute care and long-term care.
The guideline will assist nurses to:
- Identify risk factors for falls;
- Decrease incidence of falls; and
- Decrease the incidence of injurious falls.