A 2014
Cochrane review found that hip protectors decrease the number of
hip fractures among the elderly. A number of reviews have found that hip protectors are cost-effective, particularly among residents of care homes and for long-stay patients in hospital. A previous review found that the effect for preventing hip fracture among nursing home residents was small and not effective among community dwelling elderly individuals. A 2007 review found a decreased risk of hip fractures in elderly nursing home residents. However,
acceptance and long-term compliance towards them has historically been quite low, More modern hip protectors do not suffer from these disadvantages because they are slimmer with a low profile, so less noticeable, have ventilation holes and ducting to keep the skin cool under the pad and are soft and pliable conforming to the contours of the hip. Better independent testing procedures developed by Professor Julian Minns have established a reliable baseline for impact absorption performance. Research which has found hip protectors to be beneficial found hard, energy-shunting hip protectors to be superior to soft, energy-absorbing ones. Another study showed that hip protectors' design and mechanical properties vary drastically among commercially available hip protectors. ==Types==