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About this tool
Room-by-room home fall hazard checklist with a safety score, personal risk questions and the remaining fixes ranked by impact and effort.
The Fall Prevention Home Checklist walks through seven areas of a home — entrance, stairs, living room, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom and lighting — using the hazards named in the CDC 'Check for Safety' checklist and NICE guideline CG161 on falls in older people. Each item carries an impact weight and an effort level, so the tool produces a weighted safety score and a ranked action list that puts high-impact free fixes first. It also asks the three STEADI screening questions, because a previous fall, unsteadiness or fear of falling raises risk whatever the house looks like.
Open Fall Prevention Home Checklist on AltFTool — it loads instantly in your browser.
Add your input to the workspace.
Adjust the options until the result looks right.
Copy or download the output and put it to work.
Remaining items are sorted by impact and then by effort, so the free high-impact fixes surface first.
Each room gets its own percentage, which shows at a glance whether the bathroom or the stairs is the weak point.
The STEADI key questions are included, because home changes alone do not address weakness, medication or vision.
Loose rugs and clutter on the floor, poor lighting, missing or incomplete stair handrails, wet bathroom surfaces without grab rails, and unsuitable footwear such as backless slippers. Person-side factors matter just as much: leg weakness, medications causing drowsiness or low blood pressure, and poor vision.
About one in four adults aged 65 and over falls each year, and falls are the leading cause of injury-related hospital admission in that age group. Having fallen once roughly doubles the chance of falling again, which is why the first STEADI screening question asks about a fall in the past year.
The strongest evidence is for progressive strength and balance exercise, typically at least three hours a week over several months, alongside a medication review, an annual eye test, treatment of dizziness on standing and home hazard changes. Home changes work best when combined with the exercise rather than used on their own.
No — suction rails are steadying aids at best and can release without warning under body weight. A grab rail that will be leaned on must be screwed into a stud, a masonry wall or a proper backing board. If in doubt, ask an occupational therapist, who can also advise on rail height and placement.