Falls prevention is recognized as an international priority, and residents of long-term care are at highest risk of falls. This presentation will describe an award-winning Australian trial that examined an exercise program (The Sunbeam Program) versus usual care and demonstrated a 55% reduction in falls and statistically significant improvement in functional mobility. in favor of the exercise. In 2019 the “Sunbeam Trial” won the Morley Award from the Journal of the American Medical Directors’ Association for the paper most likely to influence policy and practice. The program has subsequently been scaled across Australia as Government Policy has evolved to permit widespread adoption of the program. Sub-group analysis demonstrated that the program is also effective in reducing falls in people with mild-moderate cognitive impairment – a game-changing discovery, as few trials have demonstrated a positive effect for this group of older adults.
This presentation will outline the clinical trial, provide practical advice on how to prescribe and deliver the program; and give real examples of where the right type of exercise program, at the right dose and the right frequency, has made a real difference to residents of long-term care. Critical success factors on the trajectory from clinical research to successfully advocating for government policy change will also be described and the economic evaluation and cost-benefit of the program will be presented.