Background

The study aims to evaluate and test a 10-week online program, called the Mindset Balancer program, designed to support and help older people manage their concerns about falling in their daily lives. This study also aims to gather feedback from participants to improve the Mindset Balancer Program.

This research is being funded by UNSW Medicine Neuroscience, Mental Health and Addictions Theme and SPHERE Clinical Academic Group. 

Eligibility criteria

The research study is looking to recruit people who meet the following criteria:

• ≥65 years of age, 
• live in the community,
• has access to the internet to complete the online program
• has moderate to high concerns about falling,
• able to walk household distances with/​without a walking aid, 
• able to read a book with or without glasses,
• able to speak and read in English,
• no severe depression (Patient Health Questionnaire‑9 score >=20 or scoring 3 on the last question),
• no severe cognitive impairment (Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaires score of 8).

What does participation include

You will be asked to use your personal laptop/​computer/​tablet to complete a 10-week online program, called the Mindset Balancer Program. This program is designed to support adults aged 65 and over to manage and reduce their concerns about falling. You will also be asked to complete short online activities after the completion of each module. The weekly modules will take between 10 to 20 minutes to complete each week. The short online activities will take approximately 10 minutes to complete. At the completion of each module, you will receive an online fact sheet (via email) that provides a summary of the module you completed.

Before the start of the Mindset Balancer program, you will also be asked to:

• complete online questionnaires that ask about your general health, mood, physical activity levels, and concerns about falling (this should take approximately 30 minutes to complete).
• watch a 5‑minute onboarding video

At the end of the 10-week Mindset Balancer Program:

• you will be asked to complete online questionnaires that ask about your concerns about falling, and your thoughts about the program(this should take approximately 15minutes to complete)
• you may be invited to participate in one-on-one interviews (via telehealth) to share your thoughts about the program and/​or participate in in-person, or online focus groups to provide feedback to further improve the program.

Additional Costs and Reimbursement: There are no costs associated with participating in this research project, nor will you be paid.

Contact

If you require further information regarding this study, or would like to participate, please email email hidden; JavaScript is required, or leave a voice message on (02) 9399 1090.