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Taking people in United StatesPhase 1/2

Digital program to prevent falls in older adults, including those with mild cognitive impairment

Tests a home-based digital fall prevention program in older adults.

Key facts

Who runs it
Friendi.fi Corporation
Where
Atlanta, United StatesSee the site
Trial code
Registry title
Digital STEADI Efficacy
Status
Recruiting
Phase
Phase 1/2
People taking part
300 people, planned
Started
4 Sept 2026
Expected to end
May 2028
Type of study
Interventional, 5 groupsOne group gets an existing treatment, for comparison.
Treatments tested
  • Digital STEADI-1
  • STEADI Standard of Care
  • Digital STEADI-2
  • Attentional control
Record updated
1 October 2026

Who can take part

AI summary

From the trial's eligibility criteria. Machine-read from the registry text on this page, so it can be wrong. The registry text below and the trial team decide who can take part.

The trial is looking for adults living on their own in the community who are at risk of falling. It tests a digital fall prevention program. Some groups have normal thinking and memory, and one group has mild cognitive impairment (MCI, mild memory and thinking problems).

Age
50 Years and older
Sex
All sexes can join
Disease stage
Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA, a memory and thinking test) score between 26 and 30. Must screen positive for fall risk on the Stay Independent screener. Must walk on your own, with or without a walking aid, and stand up from a chair without arms on your own.

Main reasons for not taking part

  • Diagnosed with dementia (ADRD) or a nerve disease other than MCI, such as Parkinson's or multiple sclerosis
  • Sudden illness needing a hospital stay, or a hospital stay in the past 1 month
  • Uncontrolled congestive heart failure (heart failure that needed a hospital stay in the past year, or unable to walk about one city block)
  • Hospital stay for stroke in the past 1 year
  • Unable to do the study procedures

The registry criteria, word for word

Show all 15 criteriaShow less

Who can take part

  • Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score between 26 and 30
  • Able to walk independently with or without an assistive device
  • Able to rise independently from a standard desk or dining room chair without arms
  • Live independently in a non-institutional or senior community setting
  • Able to speak, hear and understand English
  • Have 20/40 vision from 10 ft with or without correction (e.g., glasses)
  • Willing to participate in the requirements of the research program
  • Able to meet in a physical study location on Emory campus
  • Screen positive for fall risk per the Stay Independent screener

Who cannot take part

  • acute medical illness requiring hospitalization
  • diagnosed with dementia (ADRD) or a neurodegenerative disease other than MCI (e.g., Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis)
  • uncontrolled congestive heart failure (requiring hospitalization in the past year and/or unable to the equivalent of one city block)
  • history of hospitalization for stroke in the past 1 year
  • hospitalized in the past 1 month
  • inability to perform study procedures

Where in United States

  • Emory University School of MedicineAtlanta, United StatesContact: Chantal Kerssens, MSc, PhDTaking people

About the trial

What the trial wants to find out

The aging of the U.S. population, combined with health care workforce shortages and insufficient access to effective fall prevention and exercise programs, has contributed to a high burden of fall-related injuries in older adults, especially in those with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), a precursor of Alzheimer's dementia (AD) and related dementias (ADRD). There is an urgent need for scalable, evidence-based interventions that can be delivered efficiently in the home setting. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy and impact of a comprehensive digital fall prevention program (Digital STEADI) delivered through a technology platform with two conversational agents that leverage generative artificial intelligence (gen-AI) with human oversight to increase program access, enhance adherence to clinical fall prevention protocols and best practices, and reduce fall risk among community-dwelling older adults.

The 5 groups in the trial

  • STEADI-AvatarTreatment being tested

    Cognitively normal participants receiving the intervention via technology.

    Treatment: Digital STEADI-1

  • STEADI-ChatTreatment being tested

    Cognitively normal participants receiving the intervention via technology.

    Treatment: Digital STEADI-2

  • STEADI-StandardExisting treatment, for comparison

    Cognitively normal participants receiving the intervention via traditional, non-technological means.

    Treatment: STEADI Standard of Care

  • STEADI-ControlSham treatment, for comparison

    Cognitively normal participants receiving an intervention via traditional, non-technological means.

    Treatment: Attentional control

  • STEADI MCITreatment being tested

    Participants with mild cognitive impairment receiving the intervention via technology.

    Treatment: Digital STEADI-1

Questions to ask the study team

  1. How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
  2. Are travel costs paid?
  3. Can I keep my own doctor?
  4. What happens if I want to stop?

Contact the study team: see the registry record → Contacts and Locations

Print a page for my doctor

Data and sources

Registry record
Listed on ClinicalTrials.gov.
Official title
Randomized Control Trial to Test the Efficacy of the Digital STEADI Program.
Plain-language title
Digital program to prevent falls in older adults, including those with mild cognitive impairmentGenerated from the registry record. The registry title is the official one.
AI summary
From the trial's eligibility criteria. Read by machine on 15 November 2026.
Record updated
1 October 2026