Associate Professor Jasmine Menant from NeuRA and UNSW has received a $2.8 million grant from the Medical Research Future Fund for her StepSafe falls project.

The grant under the MRFF 2024 Clinical Trials Scheme will support a falls prevention clinical trial for people with Parkinson’s disease. More than 200,000 Australians live with Parkinson’s and over half experience a fall each year.

“StepSafe is a falls prevention project for people with Parkinson’s disease that is using exergames in a cognitive-motor step training intervention,” Assoc Prof Menant said.

“It builds on previous research that has demonstrated the benefits of training balance and cognition concurrently with home-based interactive games for falls prevention.

“This project is a partnership between researchers and clinicians, as well as people with lived experience in Parkinson’s and national and state consumer advocacy organisations.”

Assoc Prof Menant said falls experienced by people with Parkinson’s often lead to serious injuries, hospitalisations and increased caregiver burden, costing an estimated $45 million annually. Researchers anticipate StepSafe will reduce falls by at least 35%, improve quality of life and offer a cost-effective solution to a growing health challenge.

“We are hoping that the findings of this project show that we can reduce falls and improve balance, mobility and cognition in people with Parkinson’s in a cost-effective manner,” she said.

“If successful, StepSafe can be implemented broadly because of the home-based, portability and ease of use features of the system. As such, our program addresses a significant barrier to undertaking exercise, that is access to programs for people with mobility issues.

“This project has the potential to transform falls prevention in people with Parkinson’s, reducing personal, family and healthcare burdens nationwide.”