Position paper: a coordinated approach to fracture and fall prevention from seven international organizations

Fragility fractures constitute a major global health burden and often result from falls. However, clinical care for fragility fractures is currently organized separately from fall prevention services leading to gaps in integrated care delivery. This joint position paper from the European Geriatric Medicine Society, the Fragility Fracture Network, the World Falls Prevention Society, the European Society for Clinical and Economic Aspects of Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases, the International Osteoporosis Foundation, the European Union of Medical Specialists-Geriatric Medicine Section, and the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics-European Region highlights the critical need for integrated falls and fracture prevention, with a focus on evidence-based clinical practice, knowledge dissemination, education, policy strategies, and research. We outline existing guidelines on fall and fracture prevention, with particular emphasis on how fracture risk assessment can be incorporated into fall prevention services and on integrating fall assessment into fracture prevention services. We advocate that future implementation guidelines place greater emphasis on fully integrated models of care. Moreover, training and education programs should be designed to encourage interdisciplinary collaboration among healthcare professionals. Integrated fall and fracture prevention services should be recognized as a public health priority and incorporated into national strategies for healthy aging, supported by adequate, dedicated, and sustainable resources including evidence-based exercise provision. Finally, future research should focus on evaluating the (cost) effectiveness of integrated care models and examining their practical implementation in real-world settings.