ClinicalTrials.gg
RecruitingNCT07818200Updated Sep 25, 2026

Developing Post-falls Management Principles in Care Homes

An observational study in Fall and Fall Accident, sponsored by Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust. Recruiting at 1 site in United Kingdom. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-09-25.

Sponsored by Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust · Observational

From the registry’s dates

  • Started Jun 2026; still recruiting 4 months later.
Updated Sep 25, 2026Eligibility revisedGo to Updates ↓
Study type
Observational
Model
Other
Time perspective
Other
Enrollment
138
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

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.

Read the 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.
02

Conditions studied

  • Fall
  • Fall Accident

Keywords

  • falls
  • post-falls management
  • care homes
  • long-term care
03

In context

Lead sponsor

Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust is the lead sponsor of 107 studies on the registry; 19 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No
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.

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

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 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

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 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
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(1)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

Informed consent

Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.

You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.

05

Study design

Observational model
Other
Time perspective
Other
Enrollment
138 participants (estimated)
Patient registry
No

Groups and cohorts

  • 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.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Identification of principles for consistent post-falls management with older people in care homes using the Behaviour Change Wheel.

    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.

    Time frame: 18 months

07

Study locations

1 of 1 sites recruiting
08

Timeline

1 registry update since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reached

Started Jun 2026 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Aug 2027, 14 months after the start.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Sep 8, 2026
First posted
Sep 14, 2026
StartActual
Jun 28, 2026
Primary completionEst.
Aug 2027
CompletionEst.
Aug 2028
Last update
Sep 25, 2026
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
Eligibility
Revised
Sep 25, 2026
Show all 1 update
  1. Sep 25, 2026
    Eligibility Revised

From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT07818200
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Sep 14, 2026
Start date
Jun 28, 2026
Primary completion
Aug 2027 (estimated)
Completion
Aug 2028 (estimated)
Last update
Sep 25, 2026

Study contacts

Fran Hallam-Bowles
Contact
nuhnt.postfalls@nhs.net
07595284862

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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