Previous Campaigns
In 2014, the Fall Prevention Community of Practice identified the need to mobilize stakeholders in Ontario in a coordinated way to increase the impact of their work. Agencies were contacted to participate in the collaborative development and promotion of coordinated fall prevention messaging and activities during the month of November. This initiative mirrors the effort successfully implemented in Alberta.
2023 Campaign
2022 Campaign
2021 Campaign
2020 Campaign & Impact
Key accomplishments of the FPM 2020 campaign include:
- Organizations from across the health system came together for greater outreach and impact to raise fall prevention awareness.
- There was media coverage from a series of national and local news outlets. Social media presence was also very active. Recognition was received from Canadian officials.
- Numerous researchers tagged FPM as they shared their incredible work in fall prevention.
- FPM's Fear of Falling article was widely published across Canada in both official languages.
- For the first time, a theme was implemented. 'Be Ready, Be Steady' focused on taking the steps needed to prevent falls among older adults and children and to Be Ready, so that people can be prepared to Be Steady.
- Many new activities and promotional materials were developed to help participants plan and promote their activity/event virtually during an unprecedented campaign.
- The website was revamped and now includes a section for population and community specific content.
An evaluation of the campaign revealed the following:
- Between August and December 2020, the FPM website had over 10,000 new users and 40,000 unique page views. The FPM website had users from across the world including Canada, the U.S. and the United Kingdom.
- The top webpages, aside from the home page, visited between August and December were home page (adult), promotional materials (adult), ideas for activities (adult), information for older adults and caregivers, and additional resources (adult).
- The top promotional materials, ideas for activities and additional resources with the most unique pageviews were tip sheets, safe winter walking, branded media package, social media resources and the fear of falling article.
- Out of the 10 newsletters released between August and December, the Running an Activity for Older Adults newsletter had the greatest amount of activity from its subscribers.
- Between August and December, the campaign performed very well on Twitter irrespective of the amount of coverage on COVID-19 on social media platforms. Compared to Twitter, the campaign performed modestly on Facebook.
- The FPM evaluation survey revealed the following:
- Most respondents used the FPM website for information purposes related to their work or for information purposes to share with older adults, caregivers or parents.
- Of the 60% of respondents who hosted an activity/event during FPM, 70% used the FPM website’s activities; of the 50% who promoted an activity/event, 63% used the FPM website’s promotional materials.
- All activities and promotional materials listed on the FPM website were primarily rated as effective or very effective in helping respondents host or promote an activity/event.
- Top rated activities were education activities for professionals and staff along with promotion and awareness activities.
- Top rated promotional materials were tip sheets; communication resources; media package, tips, templates, past articles; and postcards, posters, presentation templates.
- Almost 70% of respondents had media coverage for their activity/event, with social media (Facebook and Twitter) being the most popular.
- During the campaign, 48% of respondents consulted the additional resources section of the FPM website.
- Many respondents shared pandemic-related challenges experienced in actively participating in the FPM campaign including inability to participate due to redeployment, competing agendas between public health and fall prevention, inability to host in-person or group events, among others.
2019 Campaign & Impact
Key accomplishments of the FPM 2019 campaign include:
- Organizations across Canada came together for a greater impact in the community; there was media coverage from a series of national and local news outlets; social media presence was very active; researchers shared their work in fall prevention; and recognition was received from Canadian officials.
- A series of new activities were added to the FPM website. A media firm was hired to support the development of new bilingual promotional materials for both the adult and children toolkit and the implementation of a comprehensive social media and media relations strategy.
An evaluation of the campaign revealed the following:
- The FPM website had over 10,000 new users and 44,000 unique page views between August and December.
- Most users landed on the website by directly navigating to fallpreventionmonth.ca.
- The FPM website had users from across the world including Canada, the United States of America and the United Kingdom.
- The top web pages, aside from the home page, visited between August and December 2019 were: adult home page, promotional materials (adult toolkit), take action (adult toolkit), ideas for activities (adult toolkit), and additional resources (adult toolkit).
- The promotional material, idea for an activity, and additional resource with the most unique pageviews were branded media package, safe winter walking and information for older adults and caregivers, respectively.
- The FPM evaluation survey revealed the following:
- The majority of respondents used the FPM website for information purposes related to their work or for information purposes to share with older adults, caregivers or parents.
- Of the 48% of respondents who hosted an activity/event during FPM, 71% used the FPM website’s activities; of the 61% who promoted an activity/event, 79% used the FPM website’s promotional materials.
- All activities and promotional materials listed on the FPM website were primarily rated as effective/very effective in helping respondents host or promote an activity/event.
- Half of the respondents had media coverage for their activity/event, with social media (Facebook and Twitter) being the most popular.
- With respect to additional resources, 58% of respondents consulted this section of the FPM website during the campaign.
- The FPM focus groups revealed the following:
- Participants described several activities and initiatives that were ran.
- Benefits of the initiatives ranged from health benefits to building staff capacity.
- Initiatives that succeeded were evidence-informed and multi-faceted, targeted a diverse population, were ran before, and had a variety of speakers, an ideal location, and strong partnerships and collaborations.
- Difficulties participants experienced included not planning early enough, being unfamiliar with the limits of their equipment, along with technical and internal media challenges.
- It is recommended that future campaigns make the topic of fall prevention more engaging, abide by a national theme, have clear campaign-wide hashtags, provide materials for various sub-populations including children and Indigenous communities, foster networking among participants, and have a contest to increase involvement.
2018 Campaign & Impact
Key accomplishments of the 2018 campaign include:
- The 2018 Fall Prevention Month Campaign introduced a childhood fall prevention component, including a toolkit and social media content
- The campaign changed its Twitter handle to reflect its national scope and created a Facebook page
- The campaign leveraged Twitter, Facebook and Google ads, resulting in increased social media metrics and visits to the Fall Prevention Month website
- The Partners incorporated focus groups along with surveys to collect feedback on campaign activities
An evaluation of the campaign revealed:
- 60,642 website page views from August to December
- 14,496 unique users visited the website during the same time period
- A survey of toolkit users revealed:
- The top resources and reasons for use were the same as 2017 (for “work related information” and “to share with older adults and caregivers”, most useful cited Toolkit categories were information for older adults, statistics and infographics and promotional & media)
- In addition, 16% of survey respondents indicated that "prepared activities" were the most useful resources in the toolkit
- Recommended improvements for the toolkit included:
- improve online organization,
- more resources available in French, and
- more variety in games and activities
- A survey of event planners revealed:
- Number of attendees ranged between 13 and 2,000
- 50% of initiatives had media coverage
- 67% of survey respondents used the toolkit to plan their initiative
- Focus groups revealed:
- Benefits of the toolkit: easy to use
- Challenges of the toolkit: difficult to navigate, calendar was hard to use, and lack of resources for French and Indigenous communities
- Recommendations: more awareness around the toolkit and how to use, remove or modify the calendar, incorporate stories of successful past events, provide more useable visuals (photos, videos)
2017 Campaign & Impact
Key accomplishments of the 2017 campaign include:
- The 2017 Fall Prevention Month Campaign was the largest and most successful yet
- Increased number of users from outside Canada on the Fall Prevention Month website
- Increased presence on Twitter through Twitter Ads, resulting in an increase in followers, tweets, retweets and impressions
- A news segment by Minister Dipika Damerla on National Seniors' Safety Week and Fall Prevention Month
An evaluation of the campaign revealed:
- 52,109 website page views from August (launch of website) to December (campaign wrap up)
- 9,469 unique users visited the website during the same time period
- A survey of toolkit users revealed:
- The majority used the Toolkit for “work related information” and “to share with older adults and caregivers”
- The most useful cited Toolkit categories were information for older adults, statistics and infographics and promotional & media
- Infographics and statistics cited as the most useful resource, followed by resources used as handouts and practitioner resources
- 76% used the Toolkit to plan their initiative
- A survey of event planners revealed:
- 36% of initiatives were ongoing throughout the month, 64% took place on a specific date in November
- 72% of these initiatives took place in Ontario and activities also took place in Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, Manitoba, Alberta and Newfoundland and Labrador
- Number of attendees ranged between 7 and 1,000
- A majority of respondents indicated events were geared towards the public/clients, followed by practitioners and family/caregivers
- 40% of initiatives had media coverage
- Presentations was the common initiative
- 64% of initiatives required <$100 to run and an average of 24.3 staff hours to plan
- 100% of initiative organizers felt they met their objectives
- 96% of respondents would host this initiative again
2016 Campaign & Impact
Key accomplishments of the 2016 campaign include:
- Creation of a new bilingual campaign website, featuring information on fall prevention for the public, a toolkit of resources for practitioners and an events calendar where organizations can promote what they are doing for Fall Prevention Month
- Bigger and better bilingual Toolkit to assist fall prevention practitioners in planning activities for November
- A campaign launch event at the Square One Older Adults’ Centre in Mississauga, Ontario
- Increased media presence (2 450 183 impressions)
- A Twitter account with over 200 followers
- Creation of governing documents such as Terms of Reference (with an updated governance structure) and Sponsorship Guidelines to help guide ongoing collaboration between the Partners
An evaluation of the campaign revealed:
- 38,436 website page views from August (launch of website) to December (campaign wrap up)
- 4,222 unique users visited the website during the same time period
- Over 3,000 people downloaded at least one resource from the Toolkit
- The majority used the Toolkit for “work related information” and “to share with older adults and caregivers”
- Infographics and statistics cited as the most useful resource, followed by activity planning guides, logo, and self-screening checklists
- High demand for resources to be available in other languages like French and Chinese
- 4% used the Toolkit to plan their initiative
- Overall, the Toolkit was very well received and appreciated
- The toolkit was adapted for use in Saskatchewan with great success
- The second year of this campaign demonstrates a gradual growth in interest, involvement and outreach
- Grassroots campaign initiatives reached approximately 35,000 individuals with fall prevention messaging
- 91% of these initiatives took place in Ontario and activities also took place in Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, Manitoba, and Alberta
- Presentations and staff training were most common initiatives
- 21% of initiatives received media coverage
- The majority of initiatives required <$20 to run and an average of 36 staff hours to plan
- 77% of initiative organizers felt they met their objectives
- 72% of initiatives were ongoing throughout the month, 25% took place on a specific date in November
2015 Campaign & Impact
There were 1791 unique downloads of the Toolkit by the end of the November campaign. The planning guides we developed for exercise classes and the Check Your Balance activity were popular, as were the bilingual Fall Prevention month logos and the handout “Six Warning Signs of Falls”. One person who utilized the Toolkit commented that it was “phenomenal and much appreciated! We know everyone is busy and these resources were inspirational”.
109 organizations reported participating in Fall Prevention Month by organizing at least one fall prevention initiative. At least 30 of these organizations partnered with another organization to run their initiative. The majority (94) of the participating organizations were located in Ontario. There were initiatives in all LHIN regions and a particularly strong showing in South West Ontario. There was participation from varied sectors including public health, non-profit, private, government, university and hospital.
157 initiatives during November 2015 had a total reach of over 6165 individuals. Thanks to a large number of training and education events for staff at health care organizations, over 600 health care workers are more aware of fall prevention best practices. The most common initiatives were handout distribution (87), presentations (70) and information booths (39). Webinars attracted the greatest number of attendees (1845).
The social media hashtag #PreventFalls2015 was used in 497 tweets and a few dozen Facebook, LinkedIn and Tumblr posts. Fall Prevention Month initiatives garnered interest from local media, too. There were 96 different news pieces related to Fall Prevention Month.
Since reporting was optional for organizations that participated in Fall Prevention Month 2015, we expect that the reach and impact of the campaign was greater than what we were able to capture in our evaluation.