Improving health equity: Increasing representation of ethnically diverse communities in research to reduce falls.

Introduction: Older people from ethnically diverse communities are underrepresented in research, and few programs are specifically developed to address their needs. The MOVE Together: Reduce Falls program was co-designed with older Australian’s from ethnically diverse communities to increase sustained exercise to reduce falls. The program includes physiotherapy sessions, individualised home exercises, behaviour change strategies and culturally adapted education resources. This paper explores learnings from an in-progress pilot trial.

Method: Sixty older people at risk of falls from Italian, Chinese and Arabic-speaking communities will be recruited on their own or with a partner and randomly assigned to either intervention (MOVE Together: Reduce Falls) or control (usual care and education resources in their preferred language) arm. The primary outcome is implementability of MOVE Together: Reduce Falls. Secondary outcomes include trial protocol feasibility. Codesigned strategies to enhance trial conduct include culturally responsive approaches to recruitment and intervention delivery, interpreters and translated resources, and partnerships with ethnically diverse community leaders and organisations.

Results: As of December 2025, 36 participants have been randomised, with representation across all communities . While all strategies have been useful, community partnerships have been critical. Challenges include connecting with potential participants and trial logistics, such as booking appointments and collecting falls data.

Conclusion: Codesigned, culturally-informed strategies and iterative refinement of trial processes have supported participation of older people from ethnically diverse communities in research. Development of interventions to meet the needs of people from ethnically diverse communities and increased representation in clinical trials are critical to reducing existing health care inequity.