Fear of falling: scoping review and topic analysis protocol

Fear of falling (FoF) is a major challenge for the quality of life among older adults. Despite extensive work in previous scoping and systematic reviews on separate domains of FoF and interventions related to FoF, very little attention has been devoted to a comprehensive scoping review mapping the range and scope of this burgeoning area of study, with only a few exceptions. This scoping review aims to provide an overarching review mapping FoF research by identifying main topics, gaps in the literature and potential opportunities for bridging different strains of research on FoF. Such a comprehensive scoping review will allow the subsequent creation of an interdisciplinary theoretical and empirical framework, which may help push forward policy and practice innovations for people living with FoF.

Following the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses-Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR), seven main databases will be searched from 2000 to the date of the start of the review: Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, CINAHL, Embase, MEDLINE, PsycInfo, Scopus and Web of Science. The review will include original research in English, published between 2000 and January 2023. Quality checks will be conducted collegially. Data will be extracted and analysed using PRISMA-ScR charting tools and conventions.

No ethics approval is required for the review. The results will be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal and presented at academic conferences. The outcomes will be disseminated through social media, opinion pieces and science communication platforms to reach a wider audience.

The scoping review was registered with the Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/gyzjq).