David Bruce Matchar, Inaugural Director of the Programme in Health Services and Systems Research, Duke-NUS Medical School (Singapore)

Host: Prof. Dr. Jess Snedeker, Institute for Biomechanics, University of Zurich / ETH Zurich

Falls, particularly common in the elderly, are a leading cause of death, disability, and health care costs and fear of falling leads to reduced mobility.  In Singapore, similar to other developed countries, falls represent the leading cause of trauma in the elderly and account for 85% of all elderly patients with trauma seen in the emergency department (ED).  We have demonstrated that multicomponent, tailored interventions to prevent injurious falls in high-risk individuals can be both effective – potentially reducing injurious falls by half – and cost effective.  However, such programs require substantial effort and resources to implement sustainably at a national level, raising the issue of whether we can develop a strategy to focus such programs on those most likely to benefit.

This presentation will illuminate the rationale for use of digital technology in the domain of falls prevention and set the general parameters of a cost-effective and sustainable use case.