Development, implementation and evaluation of a multinational FLS mentorship programme in Latin America.

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Healthcare Management
• Geriatrics

Background:

• Effective secondary fracture prevention remains a challenge, with many fragility fracture patients left untreated.
• Existing service models require enhancement to improve the establishment and effectiveness of fracture liaison services (FLS).
• The Capture the Fracture Partnership in Latin America aimed to address this by developing national FLS mentor communities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the development, implementation, and impact of a regional FLS mentorship program in Latin America.
• To establish a scalable platform for training FLS mentors and improving secondary fracture prevention services.

Main Methods:

• A curriculum for FLS mentor training was developed by the IOF regional team and the University of Oxford.
• Mentors were selected and trained via live online sessions, followed by ongoing mentor-led meetings.
• Program evaluation utilized pre-training needs assessments and post-training evaluations based on Moore's outcomes.

Main Results:

• The mentorship program successfully initiated 64 new FLS across Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, and Argentina.
• Approximately 17,025 additional patients received care between 2019 and 2021 due to the program.
• Mentors engaged with 58 FLS for service development, resulting in national guidelines and local resources.

Conclusions:

• The mentorship program successfully fostered a community of FLS mentors, measurably improving national FLS provision.
• The initiative demonstrated resilience despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The program serves as a potentially scalable model for developing mentor communities in other regions.