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Stairway Visual Contrast Enhancement to Reduce Fall-Related Events

Sara A. Harper, Christopher Long, Samantha Corbridge, Tyson S. Barrett, Alex Braeger, Brevin J. Zollinger, Amy E. Hale, Chayston B. Brown, Kenneth Harrison, Shandon L. Poulsen, Travis Boman, Christopher J. Dakin*

Falls on stairs occur frequently and pose a significant health and financial risk. Laboratory research has found that fall frequency can be reduced through contrast enhancement of the stairs by applying vinyl striping to the first and last steps’ faces, and all the steps’ top edges. Here we sought to determine if such step contrast enhancement can reduce the probability of fall-related events such as loss of balance, slips, trips, and falls in public university stairways. Cameras were used to capture stair users’ ascent and descent on contrast enhanced (‘striped’) and control stairways. Observed age group, observed gender, traverse direction (ascent, descent), fall-related events, and walking speed (m/s) were recorded. Fall-related events were reduced for the striped stairway compared to the control stairway (odds ratio=2.87, average marginal effect=0.002, p=.023) when controlling for observed gender, age category, and traverse direction. These results suggest contrast enhancement of first and last steps’ face and all steps’ edges may reduce fall-related events in public settings. Adding contrast enhancement to public stairways is a simple and cost-effective way to reduce the loss of balance, slips, and trips that could lead to catastrophic falls on stairs as well as the health and financial burden associated with such falls.