Research Project

Kim Delbaere
Current Appointments
Senior Principal Research ScientistKey Research Areas
Professor Kim Delbaere is a Senior Principal Research Scientist at Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA), Director of Innovation & Translation at the Falls, Balance & Injury Research Centre, and Professor and Discipline Lead of Physiotherapy at the School of Health Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney. She is a recognised global leader in falls prevention and healthy ageing, bringing together expertise in physiotherapy, neuropsychology, behavioural science and digital health innovation.
Originally trained in Rehabilitation Sciences and Physiotherapy at Ghent University, Belgium, Professor Delbaere completed her PhD in 2005 on falls in older people. In 2006, she moved to Australia to join NeuRA, where she began pioneering work on fear of falling in older adults. Her multidisciplinary research has since transformed our understanding of the physical, psychological and cognitive contributors to falls, and how these factors can be targeted to improve health, independence and quality of life in ageing populations.
Over the past decade, she has led the development of validated digital health interventions and assessment tools that are now used globally in clinical trials, health services and policy. Her work has been cited in international clinical guidelines, informed government strategies and influenced the design of commercial health technologies adopted by industry leaders.
Professor Delbaere is committed to translating research into real-world solutions that make a measurable difference to people’s lives. She leads large-scale clinical trials, works closely with health services and aged care providers and engages with policymakers to embed evidence-based fall prevention into practice. Her contributions to medical research have been recognised through multiple NHMRC excellence awards and sustained success in securing competitive research funding.
Publications
2025, 18 Aug
Innovative approaches to fall prevention in community‐dwelling older adults
View full journal-article on https://doi.org/10.5694/mja2.52714
2025, 01 Jul
MovingTogether: a randomised controlled trial of a mental-health-informed, digital health promotion intervention for older adults
View full journal-article on https://doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afaf190
2025 Apr
The effect of pain on gait in older people: A systematic review and meta-analysis
View full journal-article on https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpain.2024.104758
2025, 03 Mar
A smarter approach to fall prevention: insights for action
View full journal-article on https://doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afae291
2024, 01 Oct
Prevalence of concerns about falling in people with knee or hip osteoarthritis and the association with pain, function, and psychological factors—a cross-sectional study of 7442 patients treated in primary care
View full journal-article on https://doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afae224
2024, 01 Oct
Two simple modifications to the World Falls Guidelines algorithm improves its ability to stratify older people into low, intermediate and high fall risk groups
View full journal-article on https://doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afae192
2024, 06 Aug
Implementation of a digital exercise programme in health services to prevent falls in older people
View full journal-article on http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afae173
2024 Aug
Evaluation of the effectiveness of three different interventions on older driver safety over a 12-month period: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial
View full journal-article on https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2024-087137
2024
A 10-week intergenerational program bringing together community-living older adults and preschool children (INTERACTION): a pilot feasibility non-randomised clinical trial
View full journal-article on http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85185694233&partnerID=MN8TOARS
2024
A systems approach to aid policy action on falls prevention among community-dwelling older people in Australia
View full journal-article on http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85190083853&partnerID=MN8TOARS