Table 1.

Current recommendations for defining fall types for research and clinical practice.

Definition	Measurement	Recommended by
Fall (clinical)
A fall as an unexpected event in which an individual comes to rest on the ground, floor, or lower level	Fall Recurrent fall (2 or more falls in previous 12 months) Unexplained fall (no apparent cause found in multifactorial assessment) Severe fall (require a consultation with a physician, long-lie, visit to emergency department, loss of consciousness) Fall related injury (resulting in medical attention including hospitalization for a fall such as fractures, joint dislocation, head injury, sprain or strain, bruising, swelling, laceration, or other serious injury following a fall	World Falls Guidelines (2022)
Fall (research)
A fall as an unexpected event in which the participants come to rest on the ground, floor, or lower level	Faller (fall in previous 12 months) Non faller (no falls in previous 12 months) Frequent faller (no definition) Fall injuries should be documented, but did not recommend injurious fallers should be separately classified from other faller types; classify injuries according to ICD-10; peripheral fractures as a minimum	ProFaNE (2005)
A fall is unintentionally coming to the ground or some lower level and other than as a consequence of sustaining a violent blow, loss of consciousness, sudden onset of paralysis as in stroke or an epileptic seizure	Fall	Kellogg (1987)