Community-based adaptation of the Otago Exercise Programme delivered by Physiotherapy students for older adults at risk of falls
Abstract
Introduction
Falls among community-dwelling older adults remain a major cause of morbidity and place a substantial burden on individuals and healthcare systems. Evidence-based exercise programmes, such as the Otago Exercise Programme (OEP), are effective in reducing fall risk. However, access to these interventions remains limited in current practice, which reduces engagement and contributes to low adherence among older adults. This project aimed to address access barriers by adapting the delivery of the OEP to better meet community needs.
Method
An intervention plan was developed to improve access to falls prevention for community-dwelling older adults identified as being at moderate or high risk of falling. Existing evidence on modified OEP delivery models and volunteer-supported exercise programmes, such as FITSKILLS, was reviewed to support our work. The adapted model pairs older adults with trained physiotherapy student volunteers residing in the same community, enabling supervised delivery of the OEP. The programme includes strength and balance training sessions three times per week and group-based community walking sessions twice a week over a three-month period.
Results
The modified OEP delivery model, supervised by physiotherapy students, is ready to be offered to older adults who have never engaged in falls prevention programmes. This approach addresses key access-related barriers identified in both current practice and the scientific literature, including lack of family support, transportation difficulties, social isolation, and restrictions in outdoor mobility. Eligible participants were identified and subsequently invited to enrol in the programme. High acceptability suggests strong participant engagement.
Conclusion
Adapting the delivery of a well-established falls prevention programme has the potential to improve access and engagement among community-dwelling older adults facing barriers to participation. Ongoing feasibility evaluation will inform service refinement and scalability, supporting a pragmatic approach to expanding falls prevention services while strengthening links between healthcare education and community-based care.
Comments
What a good idea.
Thank you for sharing your poster. This looks like a great idea to aid community exercise programmes and undergraduate frailty experience at the same time. Will you be continuing this with future student cohorts? Do you know if any other universities are offering similar programmes around falls prevention? My institution (University of the West of England) does something similar with stroke patients but I wonder if this could be expanded.
Great work
This is quite a simple and sustainable exercise prgramme which can be implemented for elderly patient even in the hospital and tailored according to the patient. Thank you for the poster.
Really like this idea of…
Really like this idea of pairing older adults with local physiotherapy student volunteers is a clever way to tackle access barriers like transport and isolation, while also giving students valuable experience. Lovely to see a well-established programme like the OEP adapted so practically. Will look forward to seeing the feasibility results as it develops.
Great to see student led projects to prevent falls
It is great to see student led projects to prevent falls in older adults, as a medical student (University of Manchester) it is inspiring to see these kinds of initiatives. I wonder if this concept could be brought to other healthcare undergraduate degrees.
Inspiring students
This is such a fabulous example of utilising student time, practice and relationship building. Often practitioners would not have the time to do 3 x visits per week to carry out OTAGO exercises. The rapport created in a group setting seems to be transferable to the 1:1 if it is done regularly, as you have done. I hope inspires many more students to take part in community based work that provides so many positive outcomes.
Great to see student led falls prevention projects
As a medical student (University of Manchester), it is inspiring to see student led falls prevention. It would be interesting to see if other healthcare degrees could adopt similar programs.
Very nice work! Can you…
Very nice work! Can you maybe provide more insights into the quantitative data? In which parameters have the older adults improved?