Abstract for: Falls prevention from a system dynamical point of view

Falls are a serious problem for older adults, often causing severe injuries leading to loss of independence and high cost. Although high effort was already put in research, the situation concerning prediction and prevention is unsatisfactory from practical point of view. A small interdisciplinary team attempt to address the issue in a holistic view using a system dynamics based approach. A simple model was developed based on workshops with experts, which is able to simulate commonly observed circumstances. This leads us to the opinion, that limited success of research up to now is caused by the fact, that modelling approaches used in common are not sufficient for the complexity of the underlying problem. A system dynamics approach would cope much better with this challenge, leading to better predictions and case specific interventions.