- Title
- Evaluation of knowledge translation and workforce development through targeted exercise for falls prevention education programs for exercise physiologists
- Creator
- Pascoe, Deborah
- Date
- 2015
- Type
- Text; Thesis; PhD
- Identifier
- http://researchonline.federation.edu.au/vital/access/HandleResolver/1959.17/100003
- Identifier
- vital:10459
- Identifier
- http://library.federation.edu.au/record=b2679989
- Abstract
- There is a wealth of evidence supporting the positive effects of exercise for falls prevention. The problem that faces researchers, policy makers, accreditation bodies and higher education providers is how to best translate this information to allied health practitioners to ensure they are providing the best evidence-based practice to their clients. One in three community dwelling older people over the age of 65 years fall every year and this figure increases to one in two people over the age of 80 years. As a profession, exercise physiologists (EPs) are responsible for providing exercise for the prevention, maintenance and treatment of chronic disease and complex medical conditions, including prescribing exercise for falls prevention. The incidence of falls, chronic disease and complex medical conditions increases with age and as Australia moves towards an ever ageing population, the cost burden of health care for older people and falls is exploding. Exercise physiology and exercise science professionals have an opportunity to become champions of exercise for falls prevention and assist in ameliorating the ever increasing burden of falls in Australia. By targeting the exercise physiology profession and providing methods to translate the research evidence, there is great potential to build workforce capacity to deliver falls prevention exercise programs. But how best to target the profession of exercise physiology? Advances can be made by targeting undergraduate and post-graduate university programs or as part of mandated professional continuing education programs which focuses on both the future and current exercise physiology workforce respectively. A scoping study conducted across two States in Australia (New South Wales and Victoria) established that at the time, the current level of knowledge of undergraduate human movement and exercise and sports science students and post graduate exercise rehabilitation/exercise physiology students, was inadequate with regard to falls risk and exercise prescription for fall prevention in older people. These results highlighted the need for the development and widespread implementation of an evidence-based “exercise for falls prevention” curriculum for future exercise professionals. The UniFPEP curriculum was developed to provide evidence-based teaching and learning resource materials to enhance learning beyond current levels by translating the latest research evidence regarding falls risk and exercises for falls prevention to produce a discipline leading curriculum. The curriculum was designed to enhance exercise science and exercise rehabilitation students’ learning outcomes through the provision of online lectures and learning materials to supplement and strengthen the delivery of face-to-face lectures, practical classes and self-directed learning tasks. The UniFPEP curriculum was implemented at the University of Ballarat and following completion students’ knowledge outcomes and self-reported confidence to prescribe exercise for older people and for falls prevention were significantly increased. The results indicated that a significant change in knowledge and confidence can be achieved during a 2-3 week educational period during a normal university semester. More importantly, these changes were retained 13 weeks after completion of the UniFPEP curriculum. Following evaluation of the UniFPEP the curriculum was reviewed and prepared as a workforce continuing education program (CEP) (Fit+Fall=Free). This was implemented and evaluated as a clustered controlled trial to compare two different delivery modes: face-to-face and online, to a control group of exercise physiology professionals. The Fit+Fall=Free CEP showed significant improvements in the knowledge and confidence of EPs in prescribing exercise for older people and exercise prescription for falls prevention for both the face-to-face (F2F) and Online delivery modes. The F2F delivery of the Fit+Fall=Free CEP provided the greatest long-term impact with the increases being maintained at a significant level six months post workshop.; Doctor of Philosophy
- Publisher
- Federation University Australia
- Rights
- Copyright Deborah Ann Pascoe
- Rights
- Open Access
- Rights
- This metadata is freely available under a CCO license
- Subject
- Falls prevention; Exercise programs; Knowledge translation; Workforce development
- Full Text
- Thesis Supervisor
- Finch, Caroline
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