Falls Prevention Among Older Adults in Rural Communities: Protocol for a Scoping Review
BackgroundFalls are a critical source of injury and hospitalization and leave many older adults unable to return home, especially in rural communities with limited access to health care and support services. Studying falls prevention among rural older adults is essential beca...
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| Format: | Article |
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JMIR Publications
2025-07-01
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| Series: | JMIR Research Protocols |
| Online Access: | https://www.researchprotocols.org/2025/1/e63716 |
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| author | Megan Funk Juanita-Dawne Bacsu Melba Sheila D’Souza Anila Virani Zahra Rahemi Matthew Lee Smith |
| author_facet | Megan Funk Juanita-Dawne Bacsu Melba Sheila D’Souza Anila Virani Zahra Rahemi Matthew Lee Smith |
| author_sort | Megan Funk |
| collection | DOAJ |
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BackgroundFalls are a critical source of injury and hospitalization and leave many older adults unable to return home, especially in rural communities with limited access to health care and support services. Studying falls prevention among rural older adults is essential because they may face an increased risk of falls due to unique environmental factors, geography, and outdoor activities. Moreover, rural older adults may have limited awareness regarding fall-related risks and preventive activities.
ObjectiveThe objective of this scoping review is to explore the literature about falls prevention from the perspectives of older adults living within a rural context. This review protocol aims to identify the search parameters and methodology that will be used in the scoping review.
MethodsThis scoping review will be guided by Arksey and O’Malley’s 5-step methodological framework. We will search for relevant peer-reviewed English language literature from 5 databases: CINAHL, PubMed, Academic Search Complete, PsycINFO, and Scopus. The reference lists of relevant studies will be hand-searched to identify papers. Inclusion criteria (English language, peer-reviewed journal papers, original research, focusing on rural perspectives to support falls prevention, and published from January 2013 to December 31, 2023) will be used to determine the eligibility of the journal papers. The data from the included papers will be extracted using a standardized table and analyzed using thematic analysis.
ResultsThis protocol was registered with the Open Science Framework on June 26, 2024. The scoping review’s data collection and analysis were conducted from September to December 2024. Results from the review will be distributed through publication in a peer-reviewed journal paper, conference presentation, webinar, and a rural community workshop.
ConclusionsUnderstanding rural older adults’ perspectives of falls prevention is critical to supporting independence and healthy aging in rural communities. This review’s findings about falls prevention may have important implications for rural community leaders, policy makers, and health practitioners working to support falls prevention in rural communities.
International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)PRR1-10.2196/63716 |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c7be8ed042254eb3bf2f294a8d002e2b |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1929-0748 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | JMIR Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | JMIR Research Protocols |
| spelling | doaj-art-c7be8ed042254eb3bf2f294a8d002e2b2025-08-20T02:41:43ZengJMIR PublicationsJMIR Research Protocols1929-07482025-07-0114e6371610.2196/63716Falls Prevention Among Older Adults in Rural Communities: Protocol for a Scoping ReviewMegan Funkhttps://orcid.org/0009-0001-8306-4629Juanita-Dawne Bacsuhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-2819-1617Melba Sheila D’Souzahttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-3156-0663Anila Viranihttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-8751-0756Zahra Rahemihttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-1126-2287Matthew Lee Smithhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-8232-9285 BackgroundFalls are a critical source of injury and hospitalization and leave many older adults unable to return home, especially in rural communities with limited access to health care and support services. Studying falls prevention among rural older adults is essential because they may face an increased risk of falls due to unique environmental factors, geography, and outdoor activities. Moreover, rural older adults may have limited awareness regarding fall-related risks and preventive activities. ObjectiveThe objective of this scoping review is to explore the literature about falls prevention from the perspectives of older adults living within a rural context. This review protocol aims to identify the search parameters and methodology that will be used in the scoping review. MethodsThis scoping review will be guided by Arksey and O’Malley’s 5-step methodological framework. We will search for relevant peer-reviewed English language literature from 5 databases: CINAHL, PubMed, Academic Search Complete, PsycINFO, and Scopus. The reference lists of relevant studies will be hand-searched to identify papers. Inclusion criteria (English language, peer-reviewed journal papers, original research, focusing on rural perspectives to support falls prevention, and published from January 2013 to December 31, 2023) will be used to determine the eligibility of the journal papers. The data from the included papers will be extracted using a standardized table and analyzed using thematic analysis. ResultsThis protocol was registered with the Open Science Framework on June 26, 2024. The scoping review’s data collection and analysis were conducted from September to December 2024. Results from the review will be distributed through publication in a peer-reviewed journal paper, conference presentation, webinar, and a rural community workshop. ConclusionsUnderstanding rural older adults’ perspectives of falls prevention is critical to supporting independence and healthy aging in rural communities. This review’s findings about falls prevention may have important implications for rural community leaders, policy makers, and health practitioners working to support falls prevention in rural communities. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)PRR1-10.2196/63716https://www.researchprotocols.org/2025/1/e63716 |
| spellingShingle | Megan Funk Juanita-Dawne Bacsu Melba Sheila D’Souza Anila Virani Zahra Rahemi Matthew Lee Smith Falls Prevention Among Older Adults in Rural Communities: Protocol for a Scoping Review JMIR Research Protocols |
| title | Falls Prevention Among Older Adults in Rural Communities: Protocol for a Scoping Review |
| title_full | Falls Prevention Among Older Adults in Rural Communities: Protocol for a Scoping Review |
| title_fullStr | Falls Prevention Among Older Adults in Rural Communities: Protocol for a Scoping Review |
| title_full_unstemmed | Falls Prevention Among Older Adults in Rural Communities: Protocol for a Scoping Review |
| title_short | Falls Prevention Among Older Adults in Rural Communities: Protocol for a Scoping Review |
| title_sort | falls prevention among older adults in rural communities protocol for a scoping review |
| url | https://www.researchprotocols.org/2025/1/e63716 |
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