Fast Facts about Falls in the United States
- Falls are the second leading cause of unintentional injury deaths worldwide.
- Each year an estimated 684,000 individuals die from falls globally of which over 80% are in low- and middle-income countries.
- Adults older than 60 years of age suffer the greatest number of fatal falls.
- 37.3 million falls that are severe enough to require medical attention occur each year.
- Prevention strategies should emphasize education, training, creating safer environments, prioritizing fall-related research and establishing effective policies to reduce risk.
- A range of interventions exist to prevent falls across the life-course
Source: World Health Organization
CDC’s WISQARS™ is an interactive, online database that provides fatal and nonfatal injury, and cost of injury data. Researchers, the media, public health professionals, and the public can use WISQARS™ data to learn more about the public health and economic burden associated with unintentional injury in the United States.
CDC National Center for Health Statistics – Nov. 2022 Data Brief – Unintentional Fall Deaths Among Adults Aged 65 and Over: United States, 2020
CDC Older Adult Falls Data: New interactive maps released in September 2019, including deaths from falls and falls by state.
Great tool for county level data!
The NC Division of Public Health’s Injury and Violence Prevention Branch provides statewide surveillance of fall injuries that result in self-reported injuries, emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and deaths.
- NC Center for Health Statistics BRFSS Data
- 2021 Special Emphasis Report: Falls in Older Adults
- 2018 County-level falls data – Table & Maps. Please read updated description of data analysis.
- 2004-2014 NC Special Emphasis Report: Falls Injuries among Older Adults
- 2013 report on the burden of fall-related injuries in NC.
- 2013 video presentation of falls data in NC.
- 2011 fact sheet with falls data in NC.
ORION Report. These ORION reports include state and county-level data from 2017-2020 on unintentional fall deaths, hospitalization, and ED visits by sex, age, and race/ethnicity. To access a county-level report, click here and scroll down to County Unintentional Falls ORION Reports and select your county.
Evidence-based programs in North Carolina:
National Council on Aging INFOGRAPHIC with NC evidence-based falls prevention program data from 2014 – June 2019.
North Carolina Center for Health and Wellness
Healthy Aging NC: Falls Prevention SCORECARD