Challenges and opportunities for falls prevention: an online survey across European healthcare professionals

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PURPOSE: To explore the challenges and opportunities for the implementation of falls preventive services across Europe. METHODS: An online cross-sectional survey among healthcare professionals was initiated by the European Geriatric Medicine Society (EuGMS) Special Interest Group on Falls and Fractures containing a Likert scale and multiple-choice questions on education and knowledge, current practices, barriers, and facilitators for falls prevention. Survey participation for healthcare professionals was encouraged by the EuGMS through an email invitation, website banner, and social media. National representatives from 24 countries further promoted it via societies, local networks, and hospital channels. RESULTS: A total of 1669 multidisciplinary healthcare professionals participated from 34 European countries (median 47 years; 75% female; 40.6% physicians (73.3% geriatricians/trainees), 36% physiotherapists, 23.4% other healthcare professionals). Only 26.9% believed their undergraduate education adequately prepared them for clinical practice in this area. A total of 75.8% of respondents reported opportunistically screening older adults for fall risk often or always during consultations. Gait and balance assessment was considered the most important and was the most frequently performed component of the multifactorial fall risk assessment. The top-five barriers were staffing issues, lack of time, older adults' non-adherence to recommended strategies, workload related to falls prevention, and prioritizing other tasks. The top-five facilitators were more time, easy-to-use guidelines, sufficient resources, increased education and training on falls prevention, and increased collaboration. We observed regional and country-level variation in these top barriers and facilitators. CONCLUSION: This survey highlights the need for improved undergraduate education in falls prevention across Europe. It is essential to educate and engage governmental bodies and insurers to secure their support and prioritization of falls prevention initiatives. Furthermore, enhancing education, addressing older adults' nonadherence, interdisciplinary collaboration and providing easy-to-use guidelines seem crucial for effective implementation. The falls prevention strategy should be tailored to the local context.

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