Mobilizing falls prevention knowledge with patients and clinicians in British Columbia

Effective approaches to prevent falls exist, yet barriers to their uptake exist. These barriers include: 1) patient knowledge of best-practices for falls prevention; 2) geriatrician time and a geriatrician shortage in British Columbia (BC); and 3) access to Otago Exercise Program (OEP) training across BC. To mitigate some of these barriers, we propose a series of videos guided by patient, clinician and physiotherapist champions. The Falls Prevention Clinic team includes patient partners, geriatricians, and physiotherapist champions who deliver the OEP. A primary goal of this video series will be to: 1) increase awareness using accessible language of best practices for falls prevention; 2) increase referrals to physiotherapists for falls risk assessment from geriatricians; and 3) provide access to resources for physiotherapists who would like training in the delivery of the OEP. The intent of these videos is to prevent falls and thus promote healthy aging by: 1) facilitate improved patient understanding of how to prevent falls; 2) address the geriatricians capacity burden through increased physiotherapist referrals for falls risk assessment; and 3) foster translation of the OEP to physiotherapists across BC.

Team members: Tracy Dignum (UBC); Teresa Liu-Ambrose (UBC); Linda Li (UBC); Kenneth Madden (UBC); Naaz Parmar (UBC); Larry Dian (UBC); Catherine Chan (UBC); Alison Chan (UBC); Lillian Morishita (Retired); Cassandra Adjetey (UBC); Eleanor (“Jean”) Ko (Retired); Mohammed Esfahaad (Retired)