Hamilton-based study targets hip fractures in long-term care residents

A Hamilton-based trial hopes to significantly reduce hip fractures among long-term care residents.

“I broke my hip and I’m still paying for that. Ultimately it got so bad that the way I walked affected my back,” says Devora Greenspon, a long-term care resident, member of the Ontario Association of Residents’ Council (OARC) and participant of the trial.

“That affected all my physical activities, it also affected me mentally. I was not happy. I couldn’t come and go as I wanted to.”

Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) says hip fractures are one of the top causes of hospital transfers and death in elderly residents.

The trial is called the Person-centered Fracture Prevention Model in Long-Term Care or “PREVENT” and HHS says this trial is the first of its kind in the world.

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The study is led by the Geras Centre for Aging Research (Geras) through HHS and McMaster University and is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health.

In a release from HHS, it says 67 long-term care homes have already enrolled with 9 actively participating.

“[The trial] trains staff, equips care teams with practical tools and integrates fracture prevention into care planning,” the release from HHS says.

The release also says that the study has been working with long-term care residents and their families to ensure their voices and concerns are heard and implemented.

HHS says this is something uncommon for studies of this kind, saying residents are typically left out of the research.

More information can be found on the Geras website.

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