Falls among adults aged 65 years and older are a severe public health problem. To aid healthcare professionals in providing targeted fall preventive advice VeiligheidNL developed ‘de Valanalyse’. This is a multifactorial fall risk screening and assessment tool. This paper-based tool is designed to aid healthcare professionals (1) identify increased fall risk; (2) assess for 13 potential fall risk factors (e.g., medication, mobility, cognition); and (3) provide effective fall preventive advice relating to each of the identified risk factors. Yet, the tool’s potential for sustained use in fall preventive care is currently hindered by issues such as lack of compatibility with the workflow of different healthcare professional groups.
This PhD project focuses on enhancing ‘de Valanalyse’ tool’s adoption rate among healthcare professionals in the primary care setting. The primary goal is to digitalize and tailor the tool to the heterogeneous needs, preferences, and workflows of six different working groups: general nurse practitioners, general practitioners, physical therapists, occupational therapists, pharmacists and community nurses. This will be done by following the guidelines of the Medical Research Council (MRC) Framework for complex health interventions. Specifically, we will first develop the optimized tool (i.e., ‘de Valanalyse 2.0’) using end-user insights received via a questionnaire and focus groups. This is followed by a usability testing round whereby the feasibility of ‘de Valanalyse 2.0’ is tested with healthcare professionals from each working group. Following necessary revisions, ‘de Valanalyse 2.0’ will be implemented at different primary care settings in Amsterdam. Its effectiveness will be evaluated by means of a stepped-wedge trial across four regions in Amsterdam. This project is initiated by the Amsterdam UMC hospital (location AMC), Department of Geriatrics and is carried out in cooperation with VeiligheidNL, GGD Amsterdam, and UvA, Department of Communication Science.
Research team:
- Sara Groos (PhD student)
- Dr. Annemiek Linn and Dr. Judith Kuiper (co-promotors)
- Prof. dr. Julia van Weert and Prof. dr. Nathalie van der Velde (promotors)
Status: Ongoing since 1 February 2021
Funding: AMC, VeiligheidNL, and GGD Amsterdam