Home safety checklist
Falls prevention at home: a room-by-room checklist
Use this checklist with your family member to find hazards, improve routines, and identify when professional advice is needed.
Key points
- Walk daytime and nighttime routes before deciding which hazards need immediate attention.
- Lighting, secure mats, clear paths, handrails, and well-fitting footwear support safer movement.
- Ask a qualified professional to review medicines, vision, hearing, footwear, strength, balance, and equipment.
- Caregivers can keep routines safer while following the written plan and escalating concerns.
Room-by-room checklist
Walk the route your family member uses during the day and again after dark. Look for hazards from their eye level and, if they use a walker or wheelchair, from that path.
Entrance and hallways
- Keep a clear path from the door to the bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, and favourite chair.
- Store shoes, deliveries, cords, bags, and recycling away from walking areas.
- Mark single steps or unexpected thresholds with a highly visible edge where appropriate.
- Check that outdoor steps, walkways, and porches are lit and clear of ice, leaves, and clutter.
Bathroom
- Ask a qualified professional about securely installed grab bars where they are useful for the toilet, shower, or tub; towel bars and soap dishes are not substitutes.
- Use a shower or tub surface that is not slippery, and keep a dry towel nearby for drying feet.
- Consider whether a shower chair, handheld shower, raised toilet seat, or other recommended equipment fits the space and routine.
- Keep soap, shampoo, towels, and toilet paper within easy reach.
- Remove loose mats or replace them with mats designed to stay in place on a dry floor.
Bedroom and night path
- Place a lamp, phone, glasses, hearing aids if used, tissues, and water within reach from the bed.
- Install night lighting on the path from bed to bathroom, including hallway turns.
- Clear clothing, slippers, cables, and pet items from the floor before night.
- Consider whether a commode, bedside urinal, or bed rail has been recommended and is suitable; ask a professional rather than guessing.
- Sit on the edge of the bed for a moment before standing if that is part of your family member’s usual safe routine.
Kitchen, stairs, and living areas
- Keep often-used dishes, food, and small appliances between shoulder and hip height where possible.
- Move loose rugs, cords, plant stands, magazine racks, and low furniture out of walking routes.
- Use a stable step stool with a handle only when appropriate, and ask for help with high or heavy items.
- On stairs, use a light at both ends, secure handrails where installed, and remove objects from steps.
- Check footwear: low-heeled, well-fitting shoes or slippers with a closed heel and grip are usually safer than socks, loose slippers, or worn-out shoes.
- Ensure seating is sturdy, at a useful height, and positioned where your family member can rise with support.
Fix one or two obvious items immediately, then make a list for repairs, equipment advice, or professional assessment.
Medication, vision, and professional assessments
Falls can have more than one cause, so household changes are only part of the plan.
- Medication review. Ask the prescriber or pharmacist to review all prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins, and supplements. Ask specifically what to watch for after a new medicine or dose change.
- Vision and hearing. Keep eyeglasses clean and current, and ask how often eye examinations are recommended. Address hearing concerns with a qualified provider.
- Foot care and footwear. Check fit, worn soles, swelling, and foot pain. Ask which footwear suits any walker or mobility aid.
- Movement and equipment. Ask whether a physiotherapist, occupational therapist, nurse, or primary care provider should assess strength, balance, mobility, bathroom equipment, or home modifications.
Contact a qualified professional after any fall, repeated near falls, new unsteadiness, a fear of walking, confusion, dizziness, continence changes, or a change in medicines that affects daily safety. Seek urgent care for a suspected injury, loss of consciousness, severe headache, weakness, or difficulty speaking.
How caregivers help
A caregiver can support safe routines by keeping walkways clear, preparing meals, helping with bathing, and standing by during transfers. They can also remind your family member to use eyeglasses and mobility aids, check lighting, accompany walks approved by the care team, and tell family when conditions change. Caregivers should follow the written care plan and contact supervising staff or emergency services when a situation is beyond their role.
How Alcove helps
Alcove Home Care can help your family turn this checklist into a practical support plan. Our caregivers provide personal care, companionship, meal support, light housekeeping, respite, overnight checks, and escort to appointments while your family arranges professional assessments or home modifications.
How to start
Do the walkthrough together, make an immediate-safety list, book necessary health reviews, and arrange caregiver coverage for the times of day your family member feels less steady.
Before a first visit, use our checklist for preparing the home for a caregiver.
The checklist reflects public guidance on preventing falls and injuries among older adults, a caregiver guide to fall prevention, and Ontario home care for seniors.
Frequently asked questions
What should a family fix first in an older adult’s home?
Walk the daytime and nighttime routes together, looking for hazards from your family member’s eye level. Fix one or two obvious items immediately, then make a list for repairs, equipment advice, or professional assessment. Lighting, clear paths, secure mats, handrails, and well-fitting footwear are practical places to begin.
When does fall prevention need a qualified professional?
Contact a qualified professional after any fall, repeated near falls, new unsteadiness, fear of walking, confusion, dizziness, continence changes, or a medicine change that affects daily safety. Seek urgent care for a suspected injury, loss of consciousness, severe headache, weakness, or difficulty speaking. Household changes alone may not address every cause.
How can a caregiver support falls prevention?
A caregiver can keep walkways clear, prepare meals, help with bathing, and stand by during transfers. They can remind your family member to use eyeglasses and mobility aids, check lighting, accompany approved walks, and tell family when conditions change. They should follow the written care plan and escalate concerns beyond their role.
Sources
Related: family care guides · personal care services · home care in Barrie