Design and Evaluation of a Mobile Health Application for Falls Management in the Elderly

Abstract

According to Public Health Agency of Canada, falls remain the leading cause of injury-related hospitalizations among seniors. Most fall interventions that have emerged in recent years have focused mainly on fall detection and prevention, however, these interventions come with limitations. This research involves the topic of falls management in the elderly, in particular, the role of health informatics technologies and methodologies in determining when an elderly individual is at risk of falling, how falls can be avoided and providing the personalized support once fall has taken place. The purpose of this research is to design a mobile application for the management of falls among the elderly using the constructs of an evidence-based conceptual model, the Patient Health Engagement (PHE) Model, and an evidence-based Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS). A mixed methods study evaluated the designed application and the study revealed that all participants favored the use of the application as an educational tool.