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Funding will advance programs proven to reduce falls risk among older adults

Arlington, VA (Sept 5, 2023) — The National Council on Aging (NCOA), the national voice for every person’s right to age well, has been awarded a three-year, $4.79 million grant from the U.S. Administration for Community Living (ACL) to become the first-ever ACL Innovation Lab.

NCOA is a national leader in falls prevention and this week (Sept. 18-22) is leading Falls Prevention Awareness Week, an annual observance to raise awareness about older adults’ risk of falling and encourage them to take action to reduce their risk.

“With more than one in four Americans age 65+ falling each year, we must continue to find new and effective approaches to reducing falls risk,” said Kathleen Cameron, Senior Director of NCOA's Center for Healthy Aging.

There are several falls prevention programs that have been proven to be effective. Under this grant, we will identify the specific elements that make them effective, so we can build on what works and keep more older adults healthy and independent.”

NCOA, in partnership with Impact Genome and several academic institutions, will:

• Develop a taxonomy to identify the core components of falls prevention programs that increase efficacy
• Build a publicly available system to house the findings
• Fund community-based organizations to conduct their own research; and
• Promote the practices that work

NCOA also manages the National Falls Prevention Resource Center, leads the Falls Free® Initiative, and offers the free online Falls Free CheckUp™ where older adults can check their risk for falling and get tips on how to avoid falls. All these efforts are designed to reduce falls, which are the leading cause of fatal and nonfatal injuries among older adults and are expected to cost over $101 billion by 2030.¹

For more information, please visit www.ncoa.org/Falls.

The ACL Innovation Lab (HHS-2023-ACL-AOA-ACIL-0061) is supported by the Administration for Community Living (ACL), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $4.79 million with 100% funding by ACL/HHS. The content is that of the author(s) and does not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by ACL/HHS, or the U.S. government.

About NCOA
The National Council on Aging (NCOA) is the national voice for every person’s right to age well. We believe that how we age should not be determined by gender, color, sexuality, income, or ZIP code. Working with thousands of national and local partners, we provide resources, tools, best practices, and advocacy to ensure every person can age with health and financial security. Founded in 1950, we are the oldest national organization focused on older adults. Learn more at www.ncoa.org and @NCOAging. 

Sources

1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Older Adults Falls Data. Found on the internet at https://www.cdc.gov/falls/data/index.html

2. Houry D, et al. The CDC Injury Center's response to the growing public health problem of falls among older adults. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine. January-February 2016; Found on the internet at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4681302/