• A L Barker, P A Cameron, K D Hill, L Flicker, T P Haines, J A Lowthian, N Waldron, G Arendts, J Redfern, A Forbes, C A Brand, C D Etherton-Beer, A M Hill, P Hunter, S R Nyman, and D Smit.
• Health Services Research Unit, Centre of Research Excellence in Patient Safety, Division of Health Services and Global Health Research, Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
• Inj. Prev. 2015 Feb 1;21(1):e1.

IntroductionParticipation in falls prevention activities by older people following presentation to the emergency department (ED) with a fall is suboptimal. This randomised controlled trial (RCT) will test the RESPOND programme, an intervention designed to improve older persons' participation in falls prevention activities through delivery of patient-centred education and behaviour change strategies.Design And SettingA RCT at two tertiary referral EDs in Melbourne and Perth, Australia.Participants528 community-dwelling people aged 60-90 years presenting to the ED with a fall and discharged home will be recruited. People who require an interpreter or hands-on assistance to walk; live in residential aged care or >50 km from the trial hospital; have terminal illness, cognitive impairment, documented aggressive behaviour or a history of psychosis; are receiving palliative care or are unable to use a telephone will be excluded.MethodsParticipants will be randomly allocated to the RESPOND intervention or standard care control group. RESPOND incorporates (1) a home-based risk factor assessment; (2) education, coaching, goal setting and follow-up telephone support for management of one or more of four risk factors with evidence of effective interventions and (3) healthcare provider communication and community linkage delivered over 6 months. Primary outcomes are falls and fall injuries per person-year.DiscussionRESPOND builds on prior falls prevention learnings and aims to help individuals make guided decisions about how they will manage their falls risk. Patient-centred models have been successfully trialled in chronic and cardiovascular disease; however, evidence to support this approach in falls prevention is limited.Trial Registration NumberThe protocol for this study is registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12614000336684).Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

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