Fraunhofer Center for Assistive Information and Communication Solutions – AICOS11.3.2016
For about three years (2013-2016) a consortium of several organizations, of which Fraunhofer AICOS is part, has built a thematic network named E-NO FALLS with the goal of integrating and bringing together knowledge, experiences and best practices acquired at the European and International level in the area of fall prevention, intervention and safety. More recently, at the Falls Festival 2016, a poster of the E-No Falls has been awarded the best poster.
The E-NO FALLS thematic network consists of a forum for all stakeholders within the value chain (such as industry, end-user organizations, formal and informal care providers, public authorities, investors, housing and insurance companies and service providers across Europe). It has been intended to share knowledge, expertise, resources, best practice experiences and to build consensus highlighting the remaining obstacles to be overcome and to eventually provide guidance for Information and Communications Technology (ICT) enabled solutions and their roll-out.
Ever since from the beginning, its purpose has been to coordinate on-going activities and to create the necessary conditions and consensus on action plans, standards and specifications to ensure the widest future replication and co-deployment of innovative solutions (with special emphasis on ICT based ones). The objective of the deliverable is to identify best practices and draw a roadmap for the market development containing the key challenges, steps and phases to go through while implementing a business process of ICT-based fall prevention and effective intervention solutions for elderly people.
About the Falls Festival 2016
Under the theme ’Implementation of Innovation into Policy and Practice’, the Falls Festival 2016 took place from the 23 to the 24 of February, in Bologna (Italy).
Falls amongst older people are an important health issue for Europe and the rest of the world. Falls are a major cause of injuries amongst older people; a major cost for health services as well as the cause of death, disability and distress for older people and their families. The European Union Falls Festival brings together leading academics, researchers, health care practitioners, clinicians, industry representatives and key stakeholders from across the globe to celebrate best practice research and innovation in the multidisciplinary study and implementation of falls prevention in older people.