Abstract Background Ireland's population of 65 years and over has grown over 40% from 2013 to 2023. 1 in 3 people over 65 fall every year. Creating an age-friendly health service that emphasises preventive care is essential. Evidence shows that falls prevention exercise programmes, of sufficient duration (over 12 weeks), significantly reduce falls risk. The World Guidelines for Falls Prevention and Management (Montero-Odasso et al 2022) recommend falls prevention exercise programmes for all community-dwelling older adults. Primary Care Physiotherapy services do not have capacity to deliver interventions beyond the intermediate care period. Funding secured through HSE Health and Wellbeing, enabled the implementation of a programme designed to meet the recommended duration to effectively reduce falls risk. This pilot project aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a 26-week Falls Prevention Intervention based on the FaME (Falls Management Exercise) model. Methods This programme was offered to adults over 65 with a history, risk, or fear of falling. It was delivered in 4 community-based locations in the West of Ireland. Each program began with 6-weeks led by a Postural Stability Instructor (PSI)-trained Primary Care Physiotherapist, followed by 20-weeks with a PSI-trained Exercise Instructor. Balance, gait, strength, confidence, and self–reported health were assessed pre-, mid-, and post-intervention. Results 31 participants completed the programme. Objective outcome measures showed statistically significant improvements: 30-seconds chair stand (p 0.002), Timed Up and Go (p 0.0004), 4-Stage Balance test (p 0.0004) and Functional Reach (p 0.0001). Subjectively participants reported improvements in balance confidence (CONFBal p 0.002) and self-reported health (EQ VAS P 0.04) but with smaller effect sizes. The programmes were rated positively by all participants in the Participant Experience Questionnaire. Conclusion This collaborative project between Primary Care Physiotherapy, independent exercise instructors, and HSE Health and Wellbeing yielded positive clinical outcomes and participant feedback, supporting the case for longer interventions.
Jordan et al. (Mon,) studied this question.
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