Interprofessional falls prevention in community settings: Older adults perspectives through a socioecological lens
- 1RMIT University
Abstract
ObjectivesFalls among community-dwelling older adults are a global public health concern. Although falls prevention care relies on collaboration between medical and allied health professionals, older adults experiences and perspectives of interprofessional care remain underexplored. This research therefore explored the perspectives and experiences of primary falls prevention care, in order to identify what care is occurring in practice, where preventative opportunities may be missed and how older adults would prefer falls-prevention care to be delivered.
DesignOualitative exploratory study with a pragmatic orientation and utilising focus groups for data collection. Data was analysed using reflexive thematic analysis, with themes developed iteratively and subsequently interpreted through the lens of the Socioecological Model to develop a consumer-informed socioecological framework for community falls prevention care.
SettingThree metropolitan (Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane) and two regional centres (Woodend, Wagga Wagga) in Australia.
ParticipantsThirty-six older adults participated across five focus groups.
ResultsFour themes were identified: knowledge of allied health and falls prevention, access to care, co-ordination of care, and when and how to provide care. Each theme reflected interacting influences across socioecological levels, demonstrating the complexity of older adults engagement in falls prevention.
ConclusionsDespite strong support for preventative care, participants experiences were frequently consumer-driven, reactive and fragmented. Limited knowledge of falls and allied health, unclear access pathways, and inadequate coordination of care, shaped by organisational and policy contexts, were identified as key barriers. System- level reform that embeds falls prevention and allied health within routine care and aligns funding, coordination mechanisms and public health strategies to deliver equitable, sustainable prevention are required.
Strengths and limitations of this study* This qualitative focus group study provides novel consumer insight into older adults experiences of allied health engagement in interprofessional community- based falls prevention care.
* The application of a socioecological framework enabled interpretation of falls prevention care across individual, interpersonal, community, organisational and broader system levels.
* Inclusion of participants from diverse health service contexts enhances the transferability of findings, however, the findings may not be generalisable to all contexts and may reflect the views of older adults who were sufficiently engaged in healthcare to participate.
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BibTeX
@misc{lawton2026interprofessional,
title = {{Interprofessional falls prevention in community settings: Older adults perspectives through a socioecological lens}},
author = {A. Lawton and R. Wospil and N. Tripodi and D. Baxter and B. Vaughan and R. Lane and J. Feehan},
howpublished = {medRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.64898/2026.07.12.26357305},
url = {https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.07.12.26357305v2},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Interprofessional falls prevention in community settings: Older adults perspectives through a socioecological lens
AU - A. Lawton
AU - R. Wospil
AU - N. Tripodi
AU - D. Baxter
AU - B. Vaughan
AU - R. Lane
AU - J. Feehan
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/12
PB - medRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.07.12.26357305
UR - https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.07.12.26357305v2
AB - ObjectivesFalls among community-dwelling older adults are a global public health concern. Although falls prevention care relies on collaboration between medical and allied health professionals, older adults experiences and perspectives of interprofessional care remain underexplored. This research therefore explored the perspectives and experiences of primary falls prevention care, in order to identify what care is occurring in practice, where preventative opportunities may be missed and how older adults would prefer falls-prevention care to be delivered. DesignOualitative exploratory study with a pragmatic orientation and utilising focus groups for data collection. Data was analysed using reflexive thematic analysis, with themes developed iteratively and subsequently interpreted through the lens of the Socioecological Model to develop a consumer-informed socioecological framework for community falls prevention care. SettingThree metropolitan (Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane) and two regional centres (Woodend, Wagga Wagga) in Australia. ParticipantsThirty-six older adults participated across five focus groups. ResultsFour themes were identified: knowledge of allied health and falls prevention, access to care, co-ordination of care, and when and how to provide care. Each theme reflected interacting influences across socioecological levels, demonstrating the complexity of older adults engagement in falls prevention. ConclusionsDespite strong support for preventative care, participants experiences were frequently consumer-driven, reactive and fragmented. Limited knowledge of falls and allied health, unclear access pathways, and inadequate coordination of care, shaped by organisational and policy contexts, were identified as key barriers. System- level reform that embeds falls prevention and allied health within routine care and aligns funding, coordination mechanisms and public health strategies to deliver equitable, sustainable prevention are required. Strengths and limitations of this study* This qualitative focus group study provides novel consumer insight into older adults experiences of allied health engagement in interprofessional community- based falls prevention care. * The application of a socioecological framework enabled interpretation of falls prevention care across individual, interpersonal, community, organisational and broader system levels. * Inclusion of participants from diverse health service contexts enhances the transferability of findings, however, the findings may not be generalisable to all contexts and may reflect the views of older adults who were sufficiently engaged in healthcare to participate.
ER -