Evidence-based guidance for keeping an older parent safe at home
Written by a public health professional, sourced from Cochrane reviews, CDC guidance and clinical research, and honest about what the evidence does not support.
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Preventing falls
Falls are the single largest threat to independence at home. These guides cover what the research actually shows works, and what does not.
- Home safety checklist for seniors
- Balance exercises that reduce fall risk
- How often should seniors exercise?
- Which everyday medications increase fall risk
- Do vitamin D supplements prevent falls?
- Do bifocals increase fall risk?
- Fear of falling, and why it makes falls more likely
- Nighttime bathroom trips and falls
- How to get up after a fall
- When a parent keeps falling
Modifying the home
The bathroom is the highest risk room in the house. These guides cover what to change, what it costs, and which products are not worth your money.
Paying for it
Medicare covers less than most families expect. These guides set out every funding route, including the ones people miss.
Safety devices
Some of this equipment works. Some of it does not, and two of these guides explain why regulators treat certain devices as a hazard.
Dementia at home
Practical guidance for the specific risks dementia brings, written to reduce hazards without taking away independence.
Decisions and caregiving
The harder questions, including the ones families put off until a crisis forces them.
How this site is different
Every guide starts from the strongest available research, translates it into plain language, and includes a section on what the evidence does not support. Several articles advise readers not to buy popular products, because the research does not back them.
It is written by Simon Peter Lokomo, MPH, who works in humanitarian mine action, where injury prevention and hazard reduction are the daily job. He is not a physician, and nothing here replaces personal medical advice.