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

Abstract

Aim: To explore education and knowledge, current practices, barriers, and facilitators for the implementation of falls prevention services among healthcare professionals in Europe. Findings: The top five barriers to implementation of falls prevention included staffing issues, time constraints, non-adherence among older adults, workload pressures related to falls prevention, and competing priorities; and the top five facilitators included more time, user-friendly guidelines, adequate resources, enhanced education and training opportunities for professionals, and strengthened inter-professional collaborative practices. There was variation between regions and countries in the ranking of top barriers and facilitators. Message: It is necessary to tailor the falls prevention implementation strategy to the local context and actively involve all stakeholders.