Fall Prevention and Management App Prototype for the Elderly and Their Caregivers

Abstract

The objective of this article is to develop a validated mobile app prototype to empower the elderly and caregivers to manage falls that provides personalized and actionable educational materials at the point of care and improves the engagement of the elderly and caregiver in adopting validated fall management practices; To determine the usefulness and suitability of a fall management mobile app to the elderly and caregivers. The method used is a knowledge management approach is used to implement the app based on 2 validated models: Patient Health Engagement Model and Rockwood frailty index. A mixed method evaluation including a cognitive walk through is used to collect end-user feedback from the elderly and caregivers, on the usability, usefulness, and suitability of the app. The app was deemed easy to use, informative and understandable. Potential improvement areas include: larger print; less wordy interfaces; better navigation features; data sharing functionalities; and voice readers. These suggestions will be incorporated in the future. The conclusion of this article is that smartphones have vast potential in providing relevant and creditable fall management information to elderly and caregivers.