ABOUT
Dr Shawn Soh
Physiotherapist · Educator · Falls Researcher
Advancing physiotherapy and rehabilitation through research on falls efficacy, functional resilience, measurement and healthy ageing.
My work focuses on understanding what people believe they can do, what they are physically capable of doing, and how rehabilitation can support both confidence and capability.
PROFESSIONAL PERSPECTIVE
Rehabilitation That Starts With the Person
My clinical and academic experience in physiotherapy spans more than two decades across rehabilitation, healthcare, education and research.
A recurring question throughout this work has been how rehabilitation can move beyond a purely impairment-focused approach. Physical performance matters, but so do confidence, perception, behaviour, context and the person’s own judgement of what they can do.
This perspective has shaped my interest in person-centred rehabilitation, clinical reasoning and measurement, particularly in relation to falls and healthy ageing.
UNDERSTAND
Start with the construct
Be clear about what we are trying to understand before selecting a test, outcome measure or intervention.
CONNECT
Perception and performance
Consider what people believe they can do alongside what they demonstrate through physical performance.
TRANSLATE
Research into practice
Develop research that can inform clinical reasoning, rehabilitation and real-world healthcare practice.
RESEARCH
Research Focus
My research sits at the intersection of falls, rehabilitation, measurement science and functional health, with a particular interest in perceived and physical capability.
Falls Efficacy
Understanding perceived capability to prevent and manage fall-related situations across the falls journey.
Explore Falls Efficacy →Measurement Science
Developing and evaluating patient-reported outcome measures and examining whether instruments appropriately represent their intended constructs.
Explore Measures →Functional Resilience
Examining balance, mobility, functional performance and the relationship between perceived and actual capability.
Explore Projects →Digital Rehabilitation
Exploring how emerging technologies can support movement assessment, rehabilitation, monitoring and healthy ageing.
Research Programme →FALLS EFFICACY PROGRAMME
Building a Broader Understanding of Falls Efficacy
FallsEfficacy.com brings together conceptual work, measurement development, intervention research and international collaboration relating to confidence in preventing and managing falls.
The programme has progressively examined falls efficacy beyond conventional balance confidence, recognising that different capabilities may be required before, during and after a fall-related event.
CONCEPT
Falls Efficacy
Extending understanding of falls efficacy across pre-fall, near-fall, fall-landing and completed-fall situations.
Understand the framework →MEASUREMENT
Balance Recovery Confidence Scale
Development of the BRC to assess perceived capability to recover balance following destabilisation.
Explore BRC →MEASUREMENT
Multidimensional Falls Efficacy Scale
Development of a brief measure spanning confidence relating to fall prevention and fall management.
Explore MdFES →REHABILITATION
Therapeutic Falls Efficacy
Exploring how rehabilitation can address psychological and physical capability across different fall-related situations.
Explore Interventions →BACKGROUND
Clinical, Academic and Education Experience
My professional journey has included clinical practice, healthcare operations, physiotherapy education, professional development and research.
CLINICAL PRACTICE
Physiotherapy & Rehabilitation
Experience across hospital, private practice, home-care and residential-care settings, with longstanding interests in musculoskeletal and older-person rehabilitation.
EDUCATION
Physiotherapy Education
Undergraduate and postgraduate education, clinical skills development, professional training and supervision of student research.
RESEARCH
Applied Rehabilitation Research
Measurement, falls efficacy, healthy ageing, functional health and translation of evidence into clinical and community settings.
EDUCATION
Academic Background
Doctor of Philosophy
Queen Margaret University, United Kingdom
Master of Physiotherapy (Manipulative Physiotherapy)
University of Queensland, Australia
Bachelor of Health Sciences (Physiotherapy)
University of Sydney, Australia
Diploma in Physiotherapy
Nanyang Polytechnic, Singapore
COLLABORATION
Research Across Disciplines and Borders
Falls and healthy ageing are not problems that belong to a single profession, discipline or health system.
The Falls Efficacy programme therefore works with researchers, clinicians, students and collaborators across countries to advance measurement, translation, intervention and implementation research.
EDUCATION & ENGAGEMENT
Developing People Alongside Research
Teaching, research supervision and professional education are closely connected to the research programme. Students and clinical colleagues contribute to measurement, rehabilitation, digital-health and healthy-ageing projects while developing their own research and practice capabilities.
Physiotherapy Education
Clinical reasoning, musculoskeletal physiotherapy, rehabilitation and professional practice.
Research Supervision
Supporting students in developing research questions, conducting studies and communicating their work.
Professional Education
Talks, workshops and continuing professional development relating to falls, functional health and rehabilitation.
CONNECT
Research, Translation and Collaboration
I welcome conversations involving falls efficacy, outcome measurement, rehabilitation, healthy ageing, translation and cross-cultural validation, digital health and related research.
EXPLORE
Explore the Falls Efficacy Programme
Understand. Measure. Intervene. Implement.
FallsEfficacy.com brings together research and resources aimed at improving how we understand, assess and support people’s capability to prevent and manage falls.