NCT06204471

Acceptability of Hip Protector Airbags in Older People

Evaluating the Acceptability of Airbag Hip Protectors in Older People

• Status: Unknown
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 40 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Royal College of Surgeons, Ireland · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 60 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

Pilot study evaluating two different airbag hip protectors to see if community-dwelling older people will wear them and find them comfortable and acceptable.

Detailed description

Traditional hip protectors are specialised pads designed to shield the greater trochanter on (fall) impact. They have uncertain benefits in reducing hip fracture risk and have very poor uptake due to discomfort. Recently, airbag technology has allowed radical change in design and wearability of hip protectors. Despite these airbags being commercially available, there is little evidence of their acceptability/wearability, and as with all hip protectors, virtually no research exists in community-dwelling people. A study of traditional hip protectors found that they may reduce fear of falling (FoF) in community dwellers but activity levels or quality of life were not assessed. A non-randomised study is ongoing of hip airbags on fractures in nursing homes, but none in community dwellers. Two Hip Protectors available in Europe are CE marked as personal protective equipment and approved for sale. There is a need to evaluate their acceptability and usefulness before considering larger clinical trials evaluating their efficacy in preventing hip fractures. This study will evaluate the two hip protectors and gain patient feedback in their use.

Conditions

• Falls Risk

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DEVICE	Helite hip protector	hip protector
DEVICE	Wolk hip protector	Hip protectdor

Timeline

• Start date: 2024-01-02
• Primary completion: 2024-12-01
• Completion: 2025-04-01
• First posted: 2024-01-12
• Last updated: 2024-01-12

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Ireland