Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Evaluating The Impact Of A Falls Prevention Community Of Practice In A Residential Aged Care Setting: A Realist Approach, J Francis-Coad, C Etherton-Beer, C Bulsara, N Blackburn, P Chivers, A Hill

Physiotherapy Papers and Journal Articles

Background: Falls are a major socio-economic problem among residential aged care (RAC) populations resulting in high rates of injury including hip fracture. Guidelines recommend that multifactorial prevention strategies are implemented but these require translation into clinical practice. A community of practice (CoP) was selected as a suitable model to support translation of the best available evidence into practice, as it could bring together likeminded people with falls expertise and local clinical knowledge providing a social learning opportunity in the pursuit of a common goal; falls prevention. The aims of this study were to evaluate the impact of a falls prevention …

Evaluating The Impact Of Operating A Falls Prevention Community Of Practice On Falls In A Residential Aged Care Setting, Jacqueline Francis-Coad, Terry Haines, Christopher Etherton-Beer, Debbie Nobre, Anne-Marie Hill

Physiotherapy Papers and Journal Articles

Background/Purpose: Falls are a leading adverse event in residential aged care (RAC) settings with prevention a global aim. The purpose of this study was to determine whether operating a falls prevention community of practice (CoP) delivering evidence-based prevention interventions could change the rate of falls and injurious falls in a RAC setting.

Methods: A prospective quasi-experimental pre/post design was conducted. Participants were 13 RAC sites (779 beds) of a single RAC organization, with 20 multidisciplinary staff volunteering as CoP members.

Results: Falls rates pre CoP were 10.1/1,000 occupied bed days (OBD) compared with 10.9 /1,000 OBD post CoP operation [coefficient …

Evaluation Of Older People's Knowledge, Awareness, Motivation And Perceptions About Falls And Falls Prevention In Residential Aged Care Homes: A Tale Of Two Cities, Jacqueline Francis-Coad, Tessa Watts, Christopher Etherton-Beer, Gerwyn Panes, Howard Griffiths, Michelle Anderson, Tracy Williams, Beth Griffiths, Debbie Nobre, Anne-Marie Hill

Physiotherapy Papers and Journal Articles

Falls prevention strategies can only be effective in reducing falls amongst older people if they are adopted and enacted in their daily lives. There is limited evidence identifying what older people in residential aged care (RAC) homes understand about falls and falls prevention, or what may limit or enable their adoption of strategies. This study was conducted in two countries and explored older people’s knowledge and awareness of falls and their preferences, opportunities and motivation to undertake falls prevention strategies. A cross-sectional survey was administered to participants (N = 70) aged 65 years and over, living in six RAC homes …