Résumé
Falls among older adults represent a significant public health challenge due to their consequences, including serious injuries, increased morbidity and mortality, decreased quality of life, and heightened healthcare costs. The World Falls Guidelines (WFG), published in 2022, offer a robust framework for evidence-based interventions; however, the uptake of these guidelines into clinical practice across Europe remains inconsistent. Key barriers to implementation include insufficient resources, a lack of trained healthcare professionals, and limited integration into existing healthcare systems. This position paper by the EuGMS Special Interest Group (SIG) on Falls and Fractures addresses the implementation of the WFG among community-dwelling older adults and falls prevention across Europe by providing an overview of the current status of WFG adoption in Europe and discusses the challenges and opportunities for implementation. We provide an overview of the current resources to support the clinical practice of falls prevention, implementation guides, and educational programs. Additionally, we discuss what is necessary for the future development of these resources and for advancing research. The EuGMS SIG on Falls and Fractures advocates for a commitment of healthcare providers as well as insurers, policymakers, and other stakeholders to collaborative European initiatives-such as developing a standardised falls prevention strategy, promoting evidence-based implementation plans, establishing a European-wide research agenda, and creating under- and postgraduate curricula-which are essential for advancing falls prevention efforts across Europe.
Funding No funds, grants, or other support was received for this project. CT is principal investigator and LMcG is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research, Policy Research Unit in Older People and Frailty (NIHR PR-PRU-1217–21502), now NIHR Policy Research Unit in Healthy Ageing (reference NIHR206119). CT and ES are co-investigators on the National Institute for Health and Care Research, Applied Research Collaboration-Greater Manchester (NIHR200174). The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR, the Department of Health and Social Care, or its partner organisations. MMO’s Program in Gait
and Brain Health is supported by grants from the CIHR (MOP 211220, PJT 153100), the Weston Family Foundation (BH210118), and the Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging (FRN CNA 137794), and he holds the Wolfe Research Professorship in Aging from the Schulich Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, the University of Western Ontario, Canada. FXS was funded half-time for his PhD on benzodiazepine receptor agonist deprescribing in older adults by UCLouvain (2019=2020) and Fund for Scientifc Research–FNRS (2020–2024).