RESEARCH PROGRAMME
Research
Advancing understanding of falls efficacy, measurement, intervention and implementation to support people in preventing and managing fall-related situations.
Our research integrates psychological and physical perspectives across the falls journey, from maintaining balance and recovering from instability to managing the landing and recovering after a fall.
OUR APPROACH
From Understanding Confidence to Improving Practice
Falls are multifactorial events. Physical capability, psychological responses, environmental context and previous experiences can influence how people approach situations in which balance may be challenged.
Our research examines falls efficacy as perceived capability to prevent and manage fall-related situations. This includes understanding how perceived capability relates to actual physical performance and how both may be addressed through rehabilitation and health interventions.
PERSON
Psychological capability
Understand confidence, self-efficacy, concern about falling, perceived control and related psychological responses.
MOVEMENT
Physical capability
Examine balance, reactive balance, functional mobility, safe-falling strategies and post-fall recovery.
CONTEXT
Real-world application
Investigate how measurement and intervention approaches can be implemented across community and healthcare settings.
RESEARCH THEMES
Four Connected Areas of Research
The programme spans conceptual, measurement, intervention and implementation research. These areas are connected rather than pursued as isolated streams.
CONCEPTS & MECHANISMS
Understanding Falls Efficacy
Investigating perceived capability across different fall-related situations and clarifying its relationship with balance confidence, fear and concern about falling, physical performance and behaviour.
Explore Falls Efficacy →MEASUREMENT SCIENCE
Measuring What Matters
Developing and evaluating measurement instruments that distinguish different dimensions of falls efficacy and support construct-informed assessment.
INTERVENTION
Therapeutic Falls Efficacy
Exploring rehabilitation approaches that address both perceived and physical capability across fall prevention, balance recovery, safe landing and post-fall recovery.
Explore Interventions →IMPLEMENTATION & INNOVATION
Translating Research Into Practice
Evaluating feasibility, acceptability and implementation of measurement and intervention approaches in clinical and community settings, alongside emerging digital health opportunities.
View Current Projects →RESEARCH FRAMEWORK
Research Across the Falls Journey
The four-domain falls-efficacy framework provides a useful structure for asking different research and clinical questions across the progression of a fall-related event.
PRE-FALL
Balance confidence
How confident is the person in maintaining balance during activities?
Maintain stabilityNEAR-FALL
Balance recovery confidence
How confident is the person in arresting a fall after a loss of balance, slip or trip?
Recover stabilityFALL-LANDING
Safe-landing confidence
How confident is the person in protecting themselves during an unavoidable fall?
Manage the landingCOMPLETED FALL
Post-fall recovery confidence
How confident is the person in getting up or obtaining assistance after a fall?
Recover after fallingFEATURED PROJECTS
Research in Progress
Current work spans measurement development, clinical implementation, intervention research and international collaboration.
INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH
Investigating Falls Efficacy in Asia
Collaborative research examining falls efficacy, measurement and related fall-related outcomes across Asian populations and settings.
View project →MEASUREMENT & IMPLEMENTATION
MdFES Research Programme
Development, validation, implementation and cross-cultural adaptation of the Multidimensional Falls Efficacy Scale.
Explore MdFES →PERCEIVED × ACTUAL CAPABILITY
Falls Efficacy and Physical Performance
Investigating potential discordance between what people believe they can do and their observed physical capabilities.
View project →INTERVENTION SCIENCE
Therapeutic Falls Efficacy
Exploring person-centred strategies that support confidence and capability to prevent and manage fall-related situations.
Explore interventions →EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS
Exercise Interventions and Falls Efficacy
Reviewing how exercise and rehabilitation interventions influence different aspects of falls efficacy rather than treating the construct as a single outcome.
Review intervention research →FUNCTIONAL HEALTH
Functional Fitness MOT
Research exploring practical assessment and communication of functional capability to support healthy ageing and proactive rehabilitation.
View project →RESEARCH TO PRACTICE
Beyond Measurement
Measuring confidence is useful only when the information contributes to better understanding, clinical reasoning and appropriate action.
Assess
Identify the relevant construct and physical capability.
Understand
Explore the relationship between perceived and actual capability.
Intervene
Target the factors relevant to the individual and fall-related situation.
Reassess
Evaluate changes in confidence, capability and function.
THERAPEUTIC PERSPECTIVE
Develop capability to prevent and manage falls
The Therapeutic Falls Efficacy perspective considers how rehabilitation may support both psychological and physical capability across different stages of the falls journey.
RESEARCH OUTPUTS
From Concepts to Measurement and Implementation
The research programme has generated conceptual work, measurement instruments, validation studies, implementation research and international collaborations.
CONCEPT
Falls Efficacy
Conceptual foundations and the four-domain perspective.
Explore →MEASUREMENT
BRC
Measurement of balance recovery confidence.
Explore →MEASUREMENT
MdFES
Multidimensional assessment across falls-efficacy domains.
Explore →INTERVENTION
Intervention Evidence
Research relating to preventing and managing falls.
Explore →COLLABORATION
Research Without Borders
Falls efficacy research benefits from collaboration across disciplines, populations and healthcare systems. We welcome opportunities involving measurement, translation, validation, intervention research and implementation.
EXPLORE
Explore the Research Programme
Advance Falls Prevention and Management Research
Explore our projects, measurement instruments and intervention research, or connect with us to develop new collaborations.