Call 911 if they hit their head and are confused, drowsy, vomiting or have a bad headache; if they cannot get up or move a leg, hip, arm or back; if they have chest pain or trouble breathing; or if they take a blood thinner and hit their head, even if they seem fine.
Otherwise, do not pull them up. Help them sit, check for pain, and stay with them. Call their doctor the same day — a fall they walked away from still counts, and it is the most useful thing to tell the doctor. This page is for planning ahead; it cannot assess an injury.
A 20-second phone walk or CDC’s 12 questions flag a fall risk to raise with a doctor, before a fall happens.
No account, no emailNothing stored unless you choose
Put your phone in a pocket and walk for 20 seconds. Its motion sensor counts your steps per minute and gives a rough read of step timing. It runs in your browser; your motion data is never uploaded.
Twelve Yes or No questions from the CDC’s STEADI initiative, for yourself or for the parent you are worried about.
1 in 4 adults over 65 reports a fall each year. Slower walking is a warning sign: in one study, people whose walking speed dropped by more than 0.15 m/s in a year fell more often afterward (MOBILIZE Boston, 2011).
After a fall: practice the talk with a parent, or with their doctor → Make a fall plan for the fridge: what to do if you fall, who checks in →Less data. More done.
Three steps, each on its own page:
Twelve CDC questions, about 3 minutes. A number for a risk you can’t feel yet.
Start the screener ↓ Step 2 · healthgait.comTime a short walk with a stopwatch. The log stays on your device. One number to watch over time.
See your number → Step 3 · motionsole.comSee your gait live on camera, with the method published in the open. A clinician-review path is in design; nothing is billed.
The platform →Beyond the checklist
Time a 4-meter walk with the on-page stopwatch and keep the log on the device. With an iPhone Health export, read the longer trend too.
Sources: CDC Older Adult Fall Prevention, “About” and “Data” pages (read 2026-10-01). CDC falls data →
Answer Yes or No for each statement, for yourself or for the parent you are worried about. These are the CDC STEADI “Stay Independent” questions, scored the way CDC prints them. Open the checklist on its own page.
Someone just fell and is hurt, can’t get up, or hit their head? Call 911 now; this checklist can wait. Feeling hopeless or thinking about suicide? Call or text 988, any time.
The wording and points are CDC’s, from the STEADI “Stay Independent” brochure; it was first checked against a clinical exam in 40 older adults (Rubenstein et al., 2011), and CDC’s version is adapted from it. CDC brochure (PDF) · STEADI clinical algorithm (PDF), checked 2026-10-14.
Your answers stay on this phone. The page counts only that the check was started and finished; no answers or scores are sent. If you choose to save your result, it is kept in this browser, on this device only.
HealthGait times a 4-meter walk with an on-page stopwatch and keeps the log on the device; the log is never uploaded.
Time a walk at healthgait.comThe co-op.care assessment needs no account. Answer a few questions about who needs help and what kind, and it shows what fits the situation. It won’t match you with a caregiver.
Take the care assessmentHoping an HSA or FSA can pay for care? That depends on the person and the care, case by case. A letter of medical necessity documents the need; it doesn’t unlock the funds. ComfortCard’s coverage check gives a straight answer, even when it’s no.
Worry does not protect anyone. What helps is saying, ahead of time, what you would want and who speaks for you. It takes about 20 minutes.
Make the plan — write it down at CareGoals → Read: before the fall — why money isn’t a plan → Staying at home after a fall: what help it takes, and what Medicare pays for (careho.me) →Some items may qualify, case by case. A letter of medical necessity documents the need; it does not decide eligibility, and the plan administrator decides. For a home modification, only the part of the cost above any increase in the home’s value can count (IRS Publication 502, Capital Expenses). Items that serve general health are not medical care, even with a note (IRS IR-2024-65). To carry this screening into your on-device Family File, use “Take this with you” below.
Is it covered? (comfortcard.org/falls)The hard part is often the conversation. Practice it here: talking with a parent after a fall, and asking their doctor for a fall-risk check. Scripted, on this device; what you type is never sent.
Seeing the family doctor about it? Six questions give you a plan and a one-page summary to bring, on a related site: clinicalswipe.com/caregivers
This is the CDC STEADI self-check. A score is a screening signal, not a medical diagnosis, and a low score does not rule out a fall. The split at 8 (“higher”) is this site’s own, only to order the next steps; CDC uses one cut point, 4 (plus the three key questions). Consult your primary care provider for a full fall risk evaluation.
Balance, strength, medicines and the home all play a part. Most of these can be changed.
without vs. with an exercise program
That is 15% fewer people falling, and 23% fewer falls overall (Cochrane review of exercise for fall prevention, Sherrington et al. 2019). The review found no evidence the benefit differed for people already at higher risk.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force gives exercise to prevent falls a Grade B recommendation for adults 65 and older at increased risk (JAMA, July 2024).
An iPhone already records walking speed and Walking Steadiness. The Gait Check reads the last six months from a Health export you choose and flags a drop. The export takes a few minutes to make; the reading runs on the device.
Try the Gait Check →Much of fall risk can be worked on. Start with the category that matches the screener results above.
Sleeping pills, benzodiazepines, antidepressants, opioids, antihistamines, and blood pressure medicines are among the medicines CDC's STEADI program links to falls. Do this: ask your provider or pharmacist for a medication review using the Beers Criteria — a prescriber may be able to stop, switch, or lower a medicine. Never stop one on your own. See the full drug-by-drug breakdown →
Loose rugs, poor lighting, no grab bars in the bathroom, cords across walkways — most environmental risks cause no symptoms until the fall itself. Do this: walk the home for 30 minutes and fix what you find. The 5-minute walk-through below shows exactly where to look.
Exercise programs cut the number of falls by about a quarter (23%) and the number of people who fall by about a sixth (15%) — Cochrane review, 2019. The Otago Exercise Program is one of the best-tested home versions. Do this, every day, next to a counter: 10 slow sit-to-stands, 10 heel raises, 10 side leg lifts on each side, and heel-to-toe standing while you brush your teeth. All four come from Otago; a physical therapist can prescribe the full program.
Cataracts that reduce depth perception are correctable, and bifocals are a specific known risk on stairs — the bottom step looks closer than it is. Do this: schedule an annual eye exam, and if bifocals are worn outdoors, ask about single-lens distance glasses for walking outside — in a trial they cut falls for people often active outdoors, but added outdoor falls for people who seldom went out.
Numbness from peripheral neuropathy — common with diabetes — is a direct balance signal, and bare feet or socks on hard floors add risk on top of it. Do this: wear firm-soled, closed-toe shoes indoors, every day, not just for outings.
Isolated older adults move less, weaken faster, and fall more. Do this: ask your local Area Agency on Aging about A Matter of Balance, an 8-session group class. It is designed to ease fear of falling and keep people active, and trials show it helps with both in the months after the class; they have not shown a clear drop in falls.
Walk the paths your parent takes every day. These six checks catch most of the home hazards that cause falls.
Loose rugs trip people. Remove them, or tape every edge with double-sided carpet tape. Living room rug check →
Turn off every light. If you can't see the path from bed to bathroom, neither can they. Put a motion-sensor nightlight at every turn. Bedroom & hallway nightlight check →
Try standing using only one hand. If it's hard for you, it's harder for them. Grab bars beside the toilet and in the shower give a hand to push against. Bathroom grab-bar check →
Search "[medication name] fall risk." Blood pressure meds, sleep aids, antihistamines, and antidepressants all make the list. Bring the list to the next provider visit. The drug-by-drug breakdown →
If it slides, replace it today with a suction-backed mat inside the tub and a non-slip rug outside. Shower & tub non-slip check →
Phone chargers, lamp cords, extension cords across walkways. Each one is a trip hazard. Route them along walls and secure them. Hallways, cords & stairs check →
This is the five-minute version. For the full walk-through — every room from the bathroom to the outdoor entryway, each check with a priority flag and a fix — open the room-by-room Home Safety Assessment →
The CDC's STEADI program (Stopping Elderly Accidents, Deaths & Injuries) identifies the modifiable risk factors with the strongest clinical evidence. Here is what each factor means — and what specifically reduces it.
4+ medications, or any sedative/hypnotic, antihypertensive, antidepressant, or anticholinergic. Each extra medicine is linked to a little more risk: about 2% higher odds of a hospital admission after a fall per additional drug, in a Swedish national study of adults 70+. Blood pressure medicines can cause a drop in blood pressure on standing; sedatives can cause drowsiness and confusion.
Sources: Morin 2019 · CDC STEADI
In one 93-person trial, slowly withdrawing psychotropic (mind-acting) medicines cut the rate of falls by 66%, though stopping them for good proved very difficult. A program helping family doctors review prescriptions lowered the odds of a fall by 39% at 12 months. Pooled trials of medication reviews on their own have not shown fewer people falling, so pair a review with other steps. Ask the primary care provider or pharmacist for a medication review focused on fall risk.
Sources: Campbell 1999 · Pit 2007 · Seppala 2022
Cannot hold tandem stance for 10 seconds on the STEADI 4-Stage Balance Test, or Timed Up-and-Go ≥12 seconds. The body senses a stumble later and reacts more slowly, so the catching step comes too late.
Exercise programs cut the number of falls by 23% and the number of people who fall by 15% (a Cochrane review of 59 and 63 trials). Programs that challenged balance and added up to more than 3 hours of exercise a week had larger effects: 39% fewer falls. Tai chi: 20% fewer people falling across the review's 8 tai chi trials. In one trial of 670 high-risk adults, a tai ji quan class had 31% fewer falls than a conventional mixed exercise class.
Sources: Cochrane review 2019 · Sherrington 2017 · Li 2018
Loose rugs, poor lighting, lack of grab bars, high thresholds, and clutter on stairs. In a CDC analysis of nonfatal bathroom injuries in adults, 81% were caused by falls, with the highest injury rates in adults 65 and older. The bathroom and the bedroom-to-bathroom path are the highest-priority zones.
Source: CDC MMWR 2011
Home fall-hazard programs cut falls by 38% in people at higher risk, such as those who fell in the past year or were recently in hospital, but showed no effect in people not selected for risk. An earlier Cochrane review found these programs appear to work better when an occupational therapist delivers them.
Sources: Cochrane review 2023 · Cochrane review 2012
More than half (54%) of 4,031 community-living adults aged 70+ reported fear of falling in a Dutch population study (Zijlstra et al., Age & Ageing 2007). Fear causes activity restriction, which accelerates deconditioning and paradoxically increases actual fall risk.
This 8-session group class uses cognitive-behavioral methods to ease fear of falling. In trials it increased activity and eased fear of falling, though in the original trial the gains were modest and faded without booster sessions. A Dutch trial also found fewer people falling more than once, but no clear drop in the number who fell at least once. MaineHealth, which licenses the program, lists 595 organizations offering it in 47 states. Ask: "Does my county Area Agency on Aging offer A Matter of Balance?"
Sources: Tennstedt 1998 · Zijlstra 2009 · MaineHealth
Uncorrected refractive error, cataracts, or first-eye post-cataract glasses adjustment all increase fall risk. Bifocals specifically impair depth perception on stairs — the bottom step appears closer than it is.
In women over 70, cataract surgery on the first eye within about a month, instead of after a year's wait, cut the rate of falls by 34% over 12 months. For regular multifocal wearers, single-lens distance glasses for walking outdoors cut falls in people often active outdoors but increased outdoor falls in people who seldom went out. Medicare Part B can cover cataract surgery and a yearly diabetic eye exam for people with diabetes, but not routine eye exams for glasses.
Sources: Harwood 2005 · Haran 2010 · Medicare.gov
Sources are listed in each row. The effects come from peer-reviewed trials, reviews and population studies of older adults living in the community. Individual results vary.
The screener above is the entry point. Two companion references cover the rest — the clinical evidence behind it, and the program directory for acting on it.
Special tests, cutoffs, and evidence-based exercise dosing — TUG, Berg, 30-second chair stand, SPPB, gait speed, plus Otago, LiFE, and Sherrington’s dose-response parameters. Built for the clinician doing the evaluation.
Otago, Tai Chi, and A Matter of Balance — the evidence-based programs that reduce falls, plus home-modification funding and tools for healthcare providers.
Quick self-check · 8 questions · stays on this device
Tap an answer on any question to see the evidence right away. Your answers here are never sent, and nothing is stored unless you tap “Keep on this device”, so a refresh can find your place; “Forget” removes it.
1. On the CDC STEADI “Stay Independent” checklist (scored 0 to 14), when does CDC flag a person as possibly at risk for falling?
CDC’s Stay Independent brochure uses a cut point of 4 or more points, and the CDC STEADI clinical algorithm also flags risk if a person answers Yes to any of the three key questions (fell in the past year, feels unsteady, or worries about falling) even below 4 points. See the 12-question checklist ↑
2. Your parent slipped in the kitchen two months ago, was not hurt, and got right back up. Should that come up at the next primary-care visit?
CDC’s checklist puts it plainly: people who have fallen once are likely to fall again, even when nothing was broken. An uninjured fall is easy to leave out, so bring it up. Review Question 1 on the checklist ↑
3. In randomized trials of strength-and-balance exercise for older adults living at home, what did the programs do to the rate of falls?
The Cochrane review (Sherrington et al. 2019; 59 and 63 trials) found 23% fewer falls and 15% fewer people falling overall. The 39% fewer falls figure comes from a separate meta-analysis (Sherrington et al., Br J Sports Med 2017), in programs that challenged balance and added up to more than 3 hours of exercise a week. Read the balance & exercise evidence ↑
4. A parent takes a sleeping pill and a blood-pressure medicine and feels light-headed when standing up. What is the safest next step?
Stopping sedatives or blood-pressure medicines abruptly can cause rebound symptoms or dangerous withdrawal. A clinician-guided review and gradual taper (paired with exercise and home safety) is the safe path. Read the medication evidence ↑
5. In Cochrane reviews of home fall-hazard modification, who benefits most from a structured home-safety intervention?
The 2023 Cochrane review (Clemson et al.) found home fall-hazard interventions cut falls by 38% in people selected for higher risk, and earlier Cochrane reviews showed stronger effects when delivered by an occupational therapist. Read the home-hazard evidence ↑
6. Why do bifocal or progressive lenses raise fall risk on stairs and outdoor curbs?
The reading add at the bottom of multifocal glasses is focused for about 40 cm, not the floor 1.5 meters ahead, making steps and curb edges look closer or blurrier than they are. See Vision problems under Risk Factors ↑
7. What happens when an older adult restricts daily activity out of fear of falling?
Worry about falling is one of the 3 CDC STEADI key questions: a person who avoids moving out of fear loses leg strength and balance, which makes a fall more likely. Read the Fear of falling row ↑
8. According to CDC data on older-adult falls, what share of hip-fracture deaths in older adults are caused by falls, and what hospital service helps prevent a second fracture?
CDC reports that 83% of hip-fracture deaths in older adults result from falls (nearly 319,000 hip-fracture hospitalizations a year), and Fracture Liaison Services systematically evaluate bone density and fall risk to prevent a second fracture. See the CDC consequence data ↑
Telling a parent they are a fall risk feels like telling them they are old. It is easy to put off until after something happens. By then the options are narrower.
Most falls have causes you can work on: balance, strength, medicines and the home.
Frame it as your worry, not their weakness. The assessment above takes three minutes. Start there.