Previous research has shown that fear of falling has a significant impact on mental health and wellbeing in older people. However, introduction of supportive technology can face complex challenges due to user’s fears and expectations around its use.

No Need to Fall aims to work with professionals, older people, and unpaid carers to co-create digitally enabled, relational, and proactive approaches which can prevent falls. The project is funded by the Health Foundation and is being done through a multi-organizational partnership led by Scotland’s Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre, NHS Lanarkshire, and the University of Strathclyde. In the first phase, we used participatory workshops and semi-structured interviews to understand the professional landscape and lived experiences of older people.

Our initial research showed two significant gaps. First, on-the-ground professionals struggled to coordinate care due to organisational and IT barriers. Their lack of access created a disparity in their professional relationships and limited their ability to follow up on changes to care. Second, older people had little awareness of falls prevention services, and avoided engagement with supportive technology due to their fears around ageing, loss of control, and personal blame. This creates anxiety in their relationships with caregivers.

In our next phase, we plan to work with on-the-ground professionals to co-create new digital tools which can coordinate care in the event of a fall. Second, we will work with older people and carers to explore how relationships which support falls prevention can be mediated through mutual ownership, goal alignment, and data sharing.