Published Paper Details:

Abstract: The purpose of the current study is to identify a tool for assessment of environmental fall-hazards in residential spaces of elderly persons that is reliable for application in empirical studies for building and environmental design. Six standardized tools that were designed for the assessment of environmental fall-hazards were recruited for the current study. A comparative study of the tools was conducted to identify criteria for reliable assessment. Eight criteria of environmental fall-hazard assessment tools were identified. The study could not identify any tools that satisfied all eight criteria. The Housing Enabler tool was found to be the most versatile tool among the six tools selected for the study. However, the tool requires slight modifications for reliable applications in countries other than Sweden. It was observed that the majority of the tools did not consider the effect of perceived environmental fall-hazards, user opinions, the intensity of risk imposed, and the functional ability of the user as criteria for assessment.