Yangcheon-gu Provides 'Fall Prevention Supplies' to 620 Households... Expanding to 700 Households Next Year

Introduction of AI-Based 'Naksang Prevention Solution' App

Yangcheon-gu, Seoul (Mayor Lee Gi-jae) announced on the 12th that it has carried out the ‘Senior Safe Residential Environment Improvement Project’ to prevent falls among the elderly, supporting a total of 1,779 fall prevention items for 620 elderly households with mobility difficulties, including single-person households, this year.

The ‘Senior Safe Residential Environment Improvement Project,’ which has been promoted since last year, was selected for the Seoul City Yakja Donghaeng public contest project for two consecutive years due to its high satisfaction level. Following support for 337 households last year, the district doubled the number of beneficiaries this year, installing and providing fall prevention and convenience items to a total of 620 households.

Yangcheon-gu Mayor Lee Gi-jae visited households targeted by the Senior Safe Housing Environment Improvement Project to inspect the installation status of fall prevention items (bed safety handles). Photo by Yangcheon-gu.

The support items were also expanded from the existing 9 types to 13 by adding 4 new items (bathroom chair, cane, non-slip bathroom floor sheet, bed rail-mounted safety handle). Safety education on fall accident prevention rules and behavioral guidelines was also conducted alongside the installation of these items.

In particular, from this year, an artificial intelligence (AI)-based ‘Fall Prevention Solution’ app was introduced and utilized for the first time. The Fall Prevention Solution app is a living environment assessment app that analyzes individual information such as the elderly’s residential environment and physical condition using AI to identify surrounding risk factors and diagnose actual risk levels. Using this, the district provided customized support by increasing the support limit from the existing 230,000 KRW to 400,000 KRW for 43 elderly individuals classified as ‘high-risk’ for falls.

Additionally, to improve the elderly’s fall response ability in daily life, the district conducted 16 sessions of ‘Visiting Senior Fall Prevention Education’ in cooperation with welfare centers, senior citizen centers, and local community centers, with a total of 463 elderly participants completing theoretical lectures and basic strength-enhancing exercises.

Encouraged by the high satisfaction with the project, the district plans to expand the number of beneficiaries to 700 next year and increase the scale of support so that more residents can benefit.

The support targets are households of elderly residents aged 65 or older in Yangcheon-gu with mobility difficulties, prioritizing low-income groups, the very elderly, residential environment, and health conditions. However, previous beneficiaries, long-term care benefit recipients, and households receiving welfare equipment under other laws are excluded.

Mayor Lee Gi-jae stated, “Since falls among the elderly mainly occur in residential spaces, it is important to prevent environmental risk factors such as slippery floors and high thresholds in advance,” and added, “We hope the Senior Safe Residential Environment Improvement Project will contribute to the safe aging and quality of life of the elderly.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.