Exploring Optometrists' Practice Patterns in Falls Prevention Management

Introduction: Optometrists, as primary eye care professionals working in the community, routinely provide consultations for older adults. Impaired vision significantly increases falls risk, positioning optometrists as important health service providers to address primary falls prevention. However, there is scarce evidence for how optometrists implement evidence-based falls prevention management. This study explored Australian community optometrists' understanding of falls prevention management and their perspectives on the barriers and enablers for implementing falls prevention management in their clinical practice.

The study employed a qualitative descriptive design, using purposeful sampling to recruit Western Australian optometrists across metropolitan and rural primary eye care settings. Focus group discussions explored participants' knowledge of falls prevention, implementation experiences, and educational opportunities to improve implementation. Data were analyzed using inductive content analysis.

Four focus groups were conducted (N = 23, females = 12 and males = 11). Participants were predominantly early career optometrists (52% with 1-5 years of experience), 87% were aged under 40 and primarily practicing in metropolitan areas. The main category identified a substantial evidence-to-practice gap in optometrists' falls prevention management for older adults within primary eye care settings. Four generic categories contributed; perceived low levels of knowledge and awareness about falls prevention, sporadic integration into clinical practice, the need for an improved approach to collaboration within multidisciplinary teams, and hesitancy to undertake falls prevention management.

Community optometrists had perceived low levels of knowledge about falls prevention and identified limited opportunities to implement falls prevention management. Suggestions to bridge this implementation gap included providing further education and promoting optometrists' engagement in multidisciplinary teams. Further research investigating how community optometrists can translate falls prevention evidence into practice is required.