The researchers of the NODES project meet the population of Novara to raise awareness about fall prevention: advice and new technological horizons

in an effort to increase awareness and promote fall prevention, researchers from the University of Piemonte Orientale and Politecnico di Torino, as part of the flagship project ''TINCARE'' (research module 3) of NODES, the Aging project and in collaboration with the Municipality of Novara, organized an afternoon of awareness on the topic of fall prevention open to all on December 30, 2023, at the Sant'Andrea in Pernate (NO).  

Falls represent a serious public health issue, with devasting on the quality of life of those involved. Preventing falls is crucial to manteining health and independence, especially among the elderly. 

During the event, Professor Bellan, Professor Dal Molin, Dr. Visconti and Dr. Vairo from the Department of Traslational Medicine (DIMET) at UPO has described and analyzed the phenomenon of falls starting from the causes that lead the edlerly to fall to the consequences on their health. In order to maximize prevention, decalogues have been distributed containing recommendations and suggestions, such as removing carpets from home, ramaining seated when dressing, paying attention to the electrical wires and to the grandchildren's toys on the floor.

Towards the end of the event, Dr. Marco Caruso from the Department of Electronics and Telecommunications (DET) at the Polytechnic of Turin illustrated the research carried out within the NODES project and introduced the wearable system designed to monitor the mobility of study partecipants. The ultimate goal is to monitor, in everyday life, those mobility parameters more related to the risk of falling. The system was worn by a volunteer to better explain its functioning to the audience. 

Prevention of falls is a significant challenge, but with community awareness and the assistance of technology, it will be possible to significantly reduce the incidence of this serious health issue.