Falls an new technologies part 1: detection via online surveys

We recently published the result of a pioneering study with the Oregon Center for Aging & Technology (ORCATECH) team: Piau A, et al. The five W’s of falls - weekly online health survey of community-dwelling older adults: analysis of four years prospective follow-up. https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/glz114. 

Our study is innovative because the frequent report of falls by weekly e-mails over 4 years allowed us to detect an unknown problem, what we called “silent and injurious falls”. These are falls not leading to identifiable trauma and/or not requiring immediate health care, but nevertheless altering walking ability. We must change our view about apparently non-traumatic falls that may uncover an underlying unstable state (what the World Health Organization calls a decrease in intrinsic capability) that requires timely attention including nutritional and physical intervention. A fall is always to be taken seriously, not only because of the potential immediate traumatic consequences, but also because it can insidiously alter a person’s sense of autonomy and security without the clinician noticing.