Developing the React to Falls resources to support care home staff in managing falls

Abstract

Objectives: Care home residents are falling three times more often than elderly frail people living in their own homes and as such, the management of falls is an important area for care home staff to consider. This paper outlines the development of the 'React to Falls' training resources to support care home staff in the management of falls. Methods: The 'React to Falls' resources were developed in collaboration with falls prevention researchers, expert clinicians working in the field of falls management in care homes and care home staff and residents. Results: A freely accessible online and paper based resource was developed to meet the needs of different care home settings. Expert clinicians and care homes emphasised the importance of promoting activity and quality life and ensuring the resources were a learning tool that supported positive risk taking. Expert clinicians highlighted the need to convey the importance of continually reacting to reducing risk in the management of falls. Conclusions: This study has developed a set of training resources on falls management to support care home staff to continually react and consider the risks and management of falls. An evaluation of the impact of the resource on care staff behaviour and organisational changes is recommended.