Development of Non-Stigmatizing Hip Protection for Prevention of Fall-Related Injuries

PROJECT SUMMARY ABSTRACT Hip fracture is one of the most serious fall related injuries in older adultshas a high rate of mortality and higher rate of disabilityThe incidence of hip fractures continues to increase as older adults become a larger proportion of the U SpopulationWithin one year post hip injuryof elderly die andof community dwellers are placed in nursing homesAccordinglyhip injury prevention in the elderly is an increasingly important health concernHip fractures are expensive and are among themost costly medical conditionsThe average hospital cost for a hip fracture is $per episode and the projected annual cost of hip fracture in the U Sis expected to reach $B inAs the U Spopulation is agingboth the number of hip fractures and the costs of hip injury treatments are going to riseInjury mitigation requires innovative approaches to minimize the probability of hip fracture occurrenceUse of hip protectors represents a potential strategy for reducing forces involved in a femoral impactHoweverdespite the need for hip protection in the elderly populationespecially for people who are at risk of fallsadherence of hip protection use is lowExisting hip protectors are often bulky and uncomfortable and their effectiveness in reducing impact injury is limited by low rates of compliance and useDesign of comfortable and aesthetically pleasing protective wear with an advanced impact resisting material structure is one method that can increase usageThe protective system needs to be highly efficient in preventing injury and must consider two key determinants of when a fall results in a hip fracturelateral direction and agerelated changes in the stiffness and damping of the trochanteric soft tissues over the hipThe proposed Phase I research will build on novel engineering studies that demonstrated Alba Technicandapos s EVO TM material system is highly effective in mitigating impact injuryA distinct advantage of EVOis that it can betunedto both shunt and absorb impact energy simultaneouslyThis results in a very efficient design that can be made thinnermore comfortable and more appealingRecent work by the Alba Technic team has led to a process where the protector design can conform closely to a personandapos s body shape and be made smooth and tapered to eliminate the stigmatizing appearance that comes with numerous protective devices currently on the marketThe proposed new hip protector design acts as asecondary skinBuilding upon these observationswe seek to assess the feasibility of using the EVOmaterial for hip protectionIn pursuit of this goalwe will apply rigorous approaches to develop a highly effectivenon stigmatizingaesthetically pleasing hip protective wear productcalled the Hip Defenderthat elderly personssusceptible to fallswill wear on a daily basisThe goals of the experiments outlined herein are toDesign a hip protector product with aesthetic appealAimCreate a hip protection system using the optimized EVOmaterial systemAimand Validate performance through impact testing and assessment of consumer preferencesAimThe goal is the successful development of a hip protection device that is non stigmatizinghighly effective with desirable appearance PROJECT NARRATIVE Hip injury prevention in older adults is of increasing public health concern due to several factorsthe severe consequencesrelated costs and continued increase in the incidence of hip fracturesHip protectors have not proven to be optimal solutionsprimarily due to poor adherencelack of acceptance aesthetically and discomfort among users wearing these devicesThe proposed innovation presents an advanced technology that improves on the current state of the artIt combines injury mitigating materials that simultaneously distribute and absorb the fall impact and can be molded into a form that is aesthetically appealing and comfortable to wear on a daily basisDesign and development of a highly effectivenon stigmatizingaesthetically pleasing hip protective product could serve to overcome the known barriers to use among elderly persons susceptible to falls