SynthesisBMC public health2021
Are wearable devices effective for preventing and detecting falls: an umbrella review (a review of systematic reviews).
Synthesis in BMC public health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Multi-Factorial and Multi-Component Fall Prevention Interventions Initiated From the Emergency Department: A Systemic Review and Meta-Analysis.Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Internet-based remote exercise interventions for maintenance hemodialysis patients: a systematic review of the evidence.BMC nephrology · 2025Pooled it
- Real-World Accuracy of Wearable Activity Trackers for Detecting Medical Conditions: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2024Pooled it
- Evaluating the effectiveness of a telemedicine-based STEADI implementation in primary care on fall outcomes: the STEADI options randomized controlled trial.The Gerontologist · 2026Trial
- Community-Dwelling Older Adults' Experience With Activity Trackers: Effects of Monitoring Physical Activity.Journal of gerontological nursing · 2026Article
- RDD-YOLO: a real-time fall detection model incorporating a lightweight visual transformer with dynamic sampling.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Personality Traits and Their Association With Falls and Fall-Related Psychological Concerns in Adults Aged 50 and Older: A Scoping Review.Health science reports · 2026Review
- Seeking medical services on the smartphone among rural empty-nest older adults in China: a qualitative study.BMC geriatrics · 2026Article
- Risk of Fall in Patients with Functional Hallux Limitus: A Case-Control Study Using an Inertial Measurement Unit.Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Models of care across settings supporting ageing in place: a narrative review.The Medical journal of Australia · 2025Review
- Protective Factors for Falls Among Independent Older Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- Enhancing Eldercare: Assessing Clinician's Perception of Linguistic Summaries in Health Monitoring Alert Systems.Applied clinical informatics · 2025Article
- Neuro Receptor Signal Detecting and Monitoring Smart Devices for Biological Changes in Cognitive Health Conditions.Annals of neurosciences · 2024Review
- Wearable Technologies for Healthy Ageing: Prospects, Challenges, and Ethical Considerations.The Journal of frailty & aging · 2024Article
- Mental Health for All: The Case for Investing in Digital Mental Health to Improve Global Outcomes, Access, and Innovation in Low-Resource Settings.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Review
- Digital Well-being Through the Use of Technology-A Perspective.International journal of MCH and AIDS · 2023Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundFalls are a common and serious health issue facing the global population, causing an estimated 646,000 deaths per year globally. Wearable devices typically combine accelerometers, gyroscopes and even barometers; using the data collected and inputting this into an algorithm that decides whether a fall has occurred. The purpose of this umbrella review was to provide a comprehensive overview of the systematic reviews on the effectiveness of wearable electronic devices for falls detection in adults.
methodsMEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR), and CINAHL, were searched from their inceptions until April 2019 for systematic reviews that assessed the accuracy of wearable technology in the detection of falls.
resultsSeven systematic reviews were included in this review. Due to heterogeneity between the included systematic reviews in their methods and their reporting of results, a meta-analysis could not be performed. Most devices tested used accelerometers, often in combination with gyroscopes. Three systematic reviews reported an average sensitivity of 93.1% or greater and an average specificity of 86.4% or greater for the detection of falls. Placing sensors on the trunk, foot or leg appears to provide the highest accuracy for falls detection, with multiple sensors increasing the accuracy, specificity, and sensitivity of these devices.
conclusionsThis review demonstrated that wearable device technology offers a low-cost and accurate way to effectively detect falls and summon for help. There are significant differences in the effectiveness of these devices depending on the type of device and its placement. Further high-quality research is needed to confirm the accuracy of these devices in frail older people in real-world settings.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.