Grant: Planning and Dissemination Grant - Institute Community Support

With increasing life expectancy and the corresponding increasing number of ageing adults, hip fractures are expected to become a worldwide health problem in the near future. With the current trend of reducing length of hospital stays, some responsibility for care of patients who have had hip fractures is being shifted from hospitals to communities, frequently without adequate resources in place to support patients when they return home. Evidence indicates that extended rehabilitation programs in the community and at patients' homes could improve health outcomes for older adults who have had hip fracture by helping them recover at home. Thus, the time is right to invest in creating evidence-informed treatment programs that provide seniors who have had a hip fracture with better care, better health and greater opportunity to continue to live independently at home. We are requesting support to organize a meeting to continue building a varied team of stakeholders, which will focus on integrating care related to recovery after hip fracture. At this planning meeting, we will aim to establish a collaborative research relationship among a group of experts, clinicians, policymakers, patients and caregivers with interest in the care of seniors with hip fractures after they are discharged from hospital to their home. By forming this multidisciplinary team, we hope to create a long-term multidisciplinary collaboration to enhance research in recovery after hip fracture. The results of this research will be reflected in improved clinical health practices over the continuum of recovery, which will help both patients and their caregivers and reduce the burden on the healthcare system. Ultimately, this research aims to improve senior patients' health and reduce the burden on the healthcare system.