Background

Fall Statistics in Canada

According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI, 2000), falls are the primary cause of injury admissions to Canada’s acute care hospitals, accounting for 54.4% of all hospitalizations and 75.7% of all in-hospital deaths for clients admitted for injuries.
For seniors age 65 years and older, falls were the cause of 84.8% of all injury admissions.
Falls are the second leading cause of both head and spinal cord injuries (35% and 37%, respectively) (CIHI, 2004).

Falls were responsible for 80% of head injury hospitalizations in people age 65 and older in Ontario in 1998/99 (CIHI, 2000).
Women are admitted to Ontario hospitals for injuries from falls twice as often as men.