A Novel Allied Health Professionals-Led Falls Prevention Programme to Empower Community-Dwelling Seniors in Northeast Singapore

Background: & Aims: The Allied Health Population Health Sub-Unit at Sengkang General Hospital identified falls as a significant health risk among seniors attending Active Aging Centres (AACs) in Northeast Singapore. In response, a comprehensive Allied Health Professionals (AHP)-led Falls Prevention Programme (FPP) was developed, comprising four sessions focusing on home safety, footwear, nutrition, and exercise through experiential learning activities. This study evaluates the programme's effectiveness in enhancing falls prevention knowledge and health literacy among participants.

 

Approach: FPP was piloted across two AACs in Northeast Singapore, delivered by an AHP team of Podiatrists, Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists, and Dietitians during two periods: July-August 2024 and February-March 2025. Programme evaluation utilised pre- and post-session questionnaires, incorporating a 5-point Likert scale for health literacy and programme administration assessment, alongside topic-specific multiple-choice questions for knowledge evaluation.

 

Results: Analysis of data from 319 participants demonstrated significant improvements in health literacy, with "Strongly Agree" responses increasing from 13% to 30%, while "Neutral" responses decreased from 12% to 3%. Knowledge assessment revealed overall improvement from 56% to 63%, with notable increase in understanding falls risk reduction strategies (55% to 71%), falls detection tools (17% to 42%), and protein-rich nutrition for muscle strength (65% to 76%). Programme satisfaction was exceptionally high, with participants rating the content as clear and easy to understand (99%), useful and practical (100%), and engaging and effectively communicated (98%).

 

Implicatons: The findings demonstrated that this AHP-led FPP effectively enhances fall prevention knowledge and health literacy among community-dwelling seniors. Given these positive outcomes, implementation across all AACs in Singapore is recommended to promote wider community falls prevention strategies.