Developing Post-falls Management Principles in Care Homes

September 8, 2026 updated by: Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust

Development of Post-falls Management Principles for Older People in Care Homes

Falls are common among older people living in care homes and can cause serious injuries. After a fall, older people require post-falls management. This involves timely risk assessment and immediate action to manage potential injuries and reduce risk of further falls. Residents may need support from several organisations. However, coordinating post-falls management can be challenging. Organisations may have different ways of working. There may be differences in opinions about the best course of action. Care home residents, relatives, staff and health professionals have highlighted that post-falls management guidance is needed.

This research aims to develop principles for post-falls management for older people in care homes. The principles are intended to support a consistent approach and shared understanding across health and social care organisations. The first component (an online national survey) is already underway to map current post-falls management organisational processes for older people who fall in care homes and is not included in this protocol. This protocol includes the final three components of the research: 1) patient journey mapping to understand decision making process after a fall, 2) semi-structured interviews to explore different perspectives on factors affecting post falls decision-making and key areas for inclusion in the principles, and 3) an online modified Delphi to develop a consensus on key principles for consistent post-falls management in care homes. The research follows an implementation science approach and the Behaviour Change Wheel will be used to structure the work.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Detailed Description

A mixed methods, sequential exploratory design will be used to co-develop principles. This study includes 3 components:

  • Retrospective patient journey mapping
  • Semi-structured interviews
  • Online modified Delphi method using cross-sectional surveys at 3 time points.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

138

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Locations

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

N/A

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Patient journey mapping: older people living in care homes who have experienced a fall

Interviews: older people and relatives taking part in the patient journey mapping, care home and healthcare staff with experience of post-falls management in care homes.

Delphi: care home and healthcare staff with experience of post-falls management in care homes.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Patient journey mapping:

  • Resident living in a care home in Nottinghamshire or Lincolnshire
  • Aged 65 or over
  • Has experienced a fall in the last six months
  • Has not fallen within the last two weeks
  • Is capable of providing written or verbal informed consent as assessed by the researcher in line with the Mental Capacity Act or has a diagnosis of dementia and has a personal or nominated consultee who can advise on the person's feelings and wishes

Interviews:

  • Resident or relative of a resident taking part in the patient journey mapping
  • Care home staff in England with experience of post falls management with older people in care homes
  • Healthcare staff in England working in primary, community, emergency and acute settings with experience of post falls management with older people in care homes
  • Ability to communicate verbally

Delphi:

  • Care home staff in any role or healthcare staff in any role working in a primary, community, emergency and acute settings
  • Work in a care home or healthcare setting in England
  • Has any previous experience in supporting older people immediately after a fall in a care home as part of their role
  • Aged 18 years or over

Exclusion Criteria:

Patient journey mapping:

  • Outside of stated location
  • Outside of stated age range
  • No falls in the last six months
  • Fallen within the last two weeks
  • Unable to provide written or verbal informed consent and a personal or nominated consultee cannot be identified for residents with a diagnosis of dementia

Interviews:

  • Residents or relatives who did not take part in the patient journey mapping
  • Care home and healthcare staff outside of England
  • Staff working outside of stated settings
  • Care home and healthcare staff with no experience of post falls management with older people in care homes
  • Residents who do not have mental capacity to provide informed consent (written or verbal) and do not have a personal consultee who can advise on the person's feelings or wishes.
  • Unable to communicate verbally

Delphi:

  • Care home and healthcare staff working outside of England
  • Staff working outside of stated settings
  • No experience in supporting older people immediately after a fall in a care home as part of their role
  • Under 18 years of age

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
People receiving or supporting post falls management of older people in care homes in England
This includes older people aged 65 years and older living in care home settings, relatives of care home residents, care home and healthcare staff.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Identification of principles for consistent post-falls management with older people in care homes using the Behaviour Change Wheel.
Time Frame: 18 months
Principles will be classified to the relevant level of the Behaviour Change Wheel: sources of behaviour, intervention functions, policy categories. The classification of principles will be recorded.
18 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

June 28, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

August 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

August 1, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 8, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 8, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

September 14, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

September 14, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 8, 2026

Last Verified

May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 26HC001

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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