Preventing Falls by Adapting Your Home Video

To watch the Preventing Falls by Adapting Your Home video, choose one of the following links:
Preventing Falls by Adapting Your Home Video (Windows Media)
Preventing Falls by Adapting Your Home Video (Quicktime)



Transcript of Preventing Falls by Adapting Your Home Video

NARRATOR 1: Various senior men and women in the home, the outdoors, and visiting with doctors and nurses.

NARRATOR 2: As we age, life can have unexpected surprises for us. Changes in our vision can occur, and they may affect our eyes’ ability to see clearly and adjust quickly to changes in lighting. This can be disorienting and it can affect your balance.

People with vision loss are almost twice as likely to experience multiple falls than a person with normal vision. These falls are also more likely to involve a hip fracture. Every year, the falls of older people cost more than $20 billion dollars in direct medical expenditures. Most of these falls occur in homes. They can result in major problems that affect health and well-being.

The good news is that by making simple changes to the home environment, you can dramatically lessen the chances of a dangerous fall. These changes will also help to enhance your independent lifestyle. Adaptations to your home can be done easily and inexpensively by you, or members of your family. This will be a guide for getting started.

NARRATOR 1: Four images are shown. A person applying tape to the underside of a rug; a man turning on a floor lamp; a woman reading and turning on a gooseneck lamp; and a person pouring water into a mug over a sink.