Cost benefit considerations of preventing elderly falls through environmental modifications to homes in Hana, Maui.

The community of Hana, Hawai'i began a program of home modifications to help their elderly prevent falls. We estimated the cost benefit of these modifications from construction costs and published reports of effectiveness and cost of treating falls. We interviewed clients to determine risk of falling. The average cost of home modifications was $800. The average annual averted medical cost of falling was $1728.