First in the Nation: Regular Visit-Based Integrated Care Combining Fall Prevention, Home Management, and Well-Being Checks
Applications Accepted Year-Round at Community Center Integrated Care Desk or Online
Seongdong-gu in Seoul (District Mayor Jeong Won-oh) has newly revamped and launched the "Senior Fall Prevention Homecare" initiative as part of the "Seongdong-style Integrated Care Residential Environment Improvement Project" starting from May 12.
Seongdong-gu is focusing on promoting "Seongdong-style Integrated Senior Care" to enable seniors to enjoy healthy aging in place, and has proactively responded to changes in the residential environment that increase the risk of falls as physical function declines.
According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare's "2023 Survey on the Status of the Elderly," the most common location for senior falls is the home. As people age, familiar living spaces such as door thresholds, bathrooms, and kitchens can become risk factors for falls, indicating that the home can quickly become the most hazardous place.
From 2022 to 2024, Seongdong-gu has provided customized support for 1,084 households, including the installation of safety handles, anti-slip tiles, and the removal of thresholds, to improve residential environments and prevent falls.
Hwang Miyeong (age 73), a senior living in Seongsu-dong and a beneficiary of the program, said, "It used to be difficult for me to go to the bathroom alone, but thanks to the safety handles, I can now walk there slowly by myself. As my home is gradually improved, I feel like I am living as I used to again."
Oh Jinju (age 82), who lives in Yongdap-dong, shared, "They put anti-slip stickers all around my home, so I was able to walk around comfortably for the first time in a while. The remote control for the night light is also very convenient."
Building on three years of experience, Seongdong-gu is expanding and reorganizing the program into the nation's first regular visit-based Seongdong-style integrated care residential environment improvement initiative. Starting in May 2025, the newly implemented "Senior Fall Prevention Homecare" will operate as a lifestyle-oriented one-stop service that integrates fall prevention, home management, and well-being checks into a single system. For professional operation, the program is carried out in public-private partnership with the social welfare foundation Ttatteuthan Donghaeng.
The "Senior Fall Prevention Homecare" consists of three components. First, to prevent falls, customized support such as the provision of safety products or home repairs is provided based on residential environment, income level, and health status, creating a fundamentally safe living environment. Second, regular home management visits are conducted three times a year to support simple home repairs. Third, well-being checks are carried out to comprehensively assess living conditions and health status, linking necessary care services through integrated support. The entire process is managed by homecare managers appointed by Seongdong-gu.
Seongdong-gu's "Senior Fall Prevention Homecare" is a model inspired by and further developed from the United Kingdom's "Handyperson" scheme. The Handyperson scheme is one of the residential services in the UK's community care system, providing minor repairs and safety checks to help seniors maintain independent living, and is operated through cooperation between local governments and non-profit organizations.
Seongdong-gu has expanded and tailored this model to the Korean context, implementing it as an integrated care system centered on regular visits.
The program can be applied for year-round either at the integrated care desk in the local community center or online. The district is designating the period up to May 30 as a focused application period to identify seniors in households at high risk of falls.
District Mayor Jeong Won-oh stated, "'Seongdong-style Integrated Care' starts with creating an environment where seniors can enjoy safe and comfortable daily lives in their own homes. We will continue to promote tailored integrated care policies to enhance the quality of life for seniors and build a community care ecosystem, so that seniors can lead healthy and happy lives for many years to come in this era of super-aging society."
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