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Transitions from healthcare to self-care: a qualitative study of falls service practitioners' views on self-management.

Killingback, C., Thompson, M.A., Chipperfield, S., Clark, C. J. and Williams, J. M., 2022. Transitions from healthcare to self-care: a qualitative study of falls service practitioners' views on self-management. Disability and Rehabilitation, 44 (12), 2683- 2690.

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DOI: 10.1080/09638288.2020.1849423

Abstract

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to understand the views of falls service practitioners regarding: their role in supporting self-management of falls prevention; and a transition pathway from National Health Service (NHS) exercise-based falls interventions to community-run exercise programmes. METHOD: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with physiotherapists, nurses, and rehabilitation assistants (n = 8) who worked in an NHS falls service. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. RESULTS: Certain aspects of supporting patients in self-management were deemed to be within or beyond the scope of falls service practitioners. Challenges in supporting transition to community-run programmes included: practitioner awareness and buy in; patient buy in; and patient suitability/programme availability. CONCLUSION: Practitioners sought to be patient-centred as a means to engage patients in self-management of falls prevention exercises. Time-limited intervention periods and waiting list pressures were barriers to the promotion of long-term self-management approaches. A disconnect between falls service interventions and community-run programmes hindered willing practitioners from supporting patients in transitioning. Unless falls risk and prevention is seen by healthcare providers as a long-term condition which requires person-centred support from practitioners to develop self-management approaches, then falls services may only be able to offer short-term measures which are potentially not long lasting. IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION Falls rehabilitation practitioners need to take a person-centred approach to engage patients in self-management of falls prevention exercises. Providing information and signposting to exercise opportunities such as community-run programmes following falls service interventions should be viewed as being within the scope of the role of falls service practitioners. Rehabilitation practitioners should consider viewing falls risk as a long-term condition, to promote longer-term behavioural change approaches to ongoing engagement of exercise for falls prevention.

Item Type:Article
ISSN:0963-8288
Uncontrolled Keywords:self-management; community exercise programmes; falls prevention; falls service; nurses; patient-centred care; physiotherapists; rehabilitation assistants
Group:Faculty of Health & Social Sciences
ID Code:34867
Deposited By: Symplectic RT2
Deposited On:23 Nov 2020 15:07
Last Modified:27 Jun 2022 13:18

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