The Cloud is a hip airbag that worn under clothing and protects the user from injury in the event of a fall. The experiences with the hip airbag in nursing homes are very positive and show that it leads to fewer fractures of clients. To investigate the impact of the Cloud when worn in a home situation (extramural care), a pilot was carried out in 2022 in collaboration with Wolk, Stichting Eykenburg, The Hague University of Applied Sciences and the municipality of The Hague.

The Wolk is a light hip airbag in the form of a pair of trousers or a belt. The airbag with motion sensors automatically fills with air in the event of a fall. In the event of a fall, the hip is protected against injury. An alarm signal with location determination is also automatically sent to a contact person (such as a district nurse or an informal caregiver).

Research

The aim of this pilot is to determine whether the Wolk Hip airbag supports elderly people living at home to live independently for longer. Here is in it Living Lab Social Domain and Technology investigated whether it is feasible and feasible to implement the product within the home care organization.

A total of 22 clients aged 70+ living at home with psychological factors (such as fear of falling) and physical factors (threatened to fall due to, for example, previous hip fractures or balance problems) participated in the qualitative study. For 12 weeks, care employees guided the clients in the daily use of the Cloud. In addition, the use of the hip airbag was monitored remotely via a dashboard.

Results

The research has shown that both clients and healthcare workers are positive about the use of the Cloud. Participants experienced a safe, protected and calm feeling while wearing the hip airbag. Healthcare workers felt more reassured because they felt that clients are better protected.

The Wolk hip airbag in the form of pants are easier to use than the belts. Moreover, the pants are more applicable in home care and can be put on independently by some participants. However, the technical aspects of the Cloud were not always clear to participants. Examples are charging, the meaning of lights and replacing the cartridges. Furthermore, the Cloud was sometimes experienced as physically demanding and participants had to adjust their choice of clothing when wearing the Cloud. Think of looser-fitting clothing or other underwear.

Caregivers did not experience any additional workload, but were given additional tasks such as dressing/undressing, charging the cloud, replacing the cartridges and reporting on the cloud. There was also uncertainty about who was responsible for maintaining the dashboard in the organization.

Due to the extra investment and limited yield, Stichting Eykenburg saw no added value in continuation. Only one participant continued to use the Cloud after the pilot. Cost was the main reason for participants to stop using.