Falls Prevention Awareness Week Promotion Toolkit

Falls continue to be a national public health concern. Join us and local and state partners and coalitions September 18-24, 2022 for a nationwide observance to raise awareness of falls prevention to reduce the risk of falls and help older adults live without the fear of falling. 

All tools and resources in the Falls Prevention Awareness Week Promotion toolkit below have been developed and curated to help you maximize your impact in raising falls prevention awareness for the older adults you serve.  You are encouraged to use these resources for any activities you have planned for September and throughout the year, along with repurposing them on your website. Our toolkit (download all the campaign assets, ZIP file) offers digital and printable assets you can use to generate engagement and encourage your community to play a role in falls prevention. 

'Strengthening Community Connections in Falls Prevention': This year's Falls Prevention Awareness Week theme

Falls prevention is a team effort and everyone has a role to play to reduce falls risk, including your local neighborhood. 

Explore these new resources to help you create new partnerships within your community, plan and implement a falls prevention awareness health fair, and raise awareness about older adult falls.  

Social media toolkit and shareable graphics

These sample social media posts can be adapted and used to promote Falls Prevention Awareness Week during the week of September 18-24, 2022. Accompany your posts with the following digital assets that can be used across your organization's Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn pages.

Download NCOA's Falls Prevention Awareness Week Social Media Toolkit (Word | PDF)

Download NCOA's seven (7) social media assets below to share with the sample social media posts in our toolkit.

Additional articles, infographics, and other printable resources

It seems that falls are common, no matter what age. However, for many older adults, an unexpected fall can result in a serious and costly injury. The good news is that most falls can be prevented. Below you'll find additional articles and printable resources that can be used to talk to an older adult, family members, or health care professionals about creating a falls prevention plan.

Download and print NCOA's resources below that have been made available in various languages.

Falls Free CheckUp logos and campaign banners

NCOA's 2022 Falls Prevention Awareness Week campaign features a new Falls Free CheckUp (Spanish version), a digital screener where older adults can answer 12 simple questions to get their falls risk score and steps to reduce their risk.

Each of the following campaign banners has been formatted for the social media platform you plan on using to promote Falls Free CheckUp. These banners are intended to serve as a cover photo during Falls Prevention Awareness Week. 

Download NCOA's Falls Free CheckUp logos and campaign banners below in English and Spanish to promote our digital tool.

Get everything you need to help spread the word about preventing falls, including a planning calendar; a sample calendar announcement, advisory, and press release; and tips and sample scripts to pitch reporters. 

Join us on July 20, 2022 at 1:00 p.m. EST for a webinar with NCOA's PR Manager Simona Combi on how to prepare for a successful interview. 

Download NCOA's Falls Prevention Awareness Week Public Relations/Media Toolkit (Word | PDF)

Educate your elected officials about how public dollars support evidence-based falls prevention programs for older adults, caregivers, family members, and the community at large. Aging services professionals are well-positioned to explain how limited public investment, along with growing demand, is having a domino effect on programs and services that help older adults remain healthy and independent in their own homes and communities. It’s important that Congress understand how older adults and caregivers are being affected by funding and policy decisions.

Join us on July 27, 2022 at 1:00 p.m. EST for a webinar to hear from your peers, and strategies they used to engage with local stakeholders and decision makers. 

Below are links to help guide your falls prevention advocacy efforts:

• Governor's Proclamation (Template): Edit the downloadable template and yellow highlights as needed for your state. National numbers in the proclamation template are cited. States can add citations for their state-specific data.
• Dear Colleague Letter: Support Fall Prevention Programs for Older Adults FY23: Led by Representative Lois Frankel (FL-21), a bipartisan letter to LHHS Chair Rosa DeLauro and Ranking Member Tom Cole requesting increased funding for evidence-based falls prevention programs to prevent and reduce falls among older adults.  
• House Appropriations Healthy Aging Hearing Recording: Listen to the hearing from May 12 that addresses the need to maximize independence, well-being, and health of older adults. 
• Falls Prevention Programs: Saving Lives, Saving Money Infographic: Falls are the No. 1 cause of injury and fatal injury among older adults. Download and share this infographic to show how evidence-based falls prevention programs are effective.

This project was supported, in part by grant number 90FPSG0051 from the U.S. Administration for Community Living, Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C. 20201. Grantees undertaking projects under government sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their findings and conclusions. Points of view or opinions do not, therefore, necessarily represent official Administration for Community Living policy.