Exploring how falls prevention practitioners assess and manage concerns about falling.

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Public Health
• Rehabilitation Medicine

Background:

• Concerns about falling (CaF) are prevalent in older adults, increasing future fall risk.
• World Falls Guidelines offer recommendations for CaF assessment and treatment.
• Current adoption rates and implementation barriers for these guidelines in practice are unknown.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the adoption of World Falls Guidelines in falls prevention services.
• To identify barriers to the clinical implementation of CaF assessment and management recommendations.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional survey was administered to 114 UK and Ireland healthcare professionals in falls prevention and rehabilitation.
• The survey investigated current practices and perceptions regarding CaF management and assessment.

Main Results:

• Only 39% of professionals use the Falls Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I) as recommended.
• Hospital-based professionals were less likely to use FES-I than community-based ones.
• Lack of time and perceived effective interventions were key barriers, especially in hospitals.

Conclusions:

• World Falls Guidelines adoption for CaF assessment and management is suboptimal, particularly in hospital settings.
• Barriers to guideline implementation require targeted interventions.
• Future efforts should address identified barriers to enhance clinical practice in falls prevention.