Environmental interventions for preventing falls in older people living in the community.

Background: Falls and fall-related injuries are common. A third of community-dwelling people aged over 65 years fall each year. Falls can have serious consequences including restricting activity or institutionalisation.

Implementation of a new model of clinical education for regional occupational therapy student clinical placements.

Expansion of occupational therapy education programs has resulted in increased student numbers and demand on clinicians to host clinical placements while also maintaining the delivery of high-quality, safe clinical services to patients. Much of the research about innovative placement models, including student contributions to service delivery, has been conducted in metropolitan areas. Therefore, there is a need to develop models that are suited to regional settings that face diversity of caseload, more generalised occupational therapy roles and variations in patient flow.

Positioning occupational therapy as a discipline on the research continuum: results of a cross-sectional survey of research experience.

Background/aim: Evidence-based practice and research are beginning and endpoints on a research continuum. Progression along the continuum builds research capacity. Occupational Therapy has a low evidence base, thus, clinicians are not implementing evidence-based practice or publishing research.

Assessing the implementation process and outcomes of newly introduced assistant roles: a qualitative study to examine the utility of the Calderdale Framework as an appraisal tool.

Internationally, the health workforce has undergone rapid transformation to help meet growing staffing demands and population requirements. Several tools have been developed to support workforce change processes. The Calderdale Framework (CF) is one such tool designed to facilitate competency-based training by engaging team members in a seven step process involving awareness raising, service and task analysis, competency identification, establishing support systems, training, and sustaining.

Environmental assessment and modification to prevent falls in older people.

Unlabelled: To assess the effectiveness of an environmental falls prevention intervention delivered by qualified occupational therapists or unqualified trained assessors.

Design: A pilot three-armed randomized controlled trial.

Setting: Airedale National Health Service Trust catchment, North and West Yorkshire, England.