An intervention to improve outcomes of falls in dementia: the DIFRID mixed-methods feasibility study.

People with dementia fall over more often than people who do not have dementia. When they fall over, they are more likely to hurt themselves. They do not get better as easily as people without dementia. After hurting themselves, people with dementia may need a lot more help in looking after themselves. They, and their carer, may not have such a good quality of life after the fall. In this study, we developed and tested a package of care to help people with dementia recover from a fall. In the first part of the study, we looked for papers about clinical trials that have tried to make things better for people with dementia who have had a fall. We found that there were very few previous clinical trials, but we found ideas for ways in which this could be improved. In the second part of the study, we found out what happens to people with dementia who ask for help after an injury due to a fall. We found that very few services were used by people with dementia who fall. We interviewed them and their carers to find out what help they thought they needed after the fall and what they thought we could do better. We also spoke to the staff in existing services to find out how they thought services for people with dementia could be improved. In the third part of the study, we asked a group of experts, people with dementia and their carers to look at the findings of the first two parts of the study. They helped us to design a care package for people with dementia after a fall. In the fourth part of the study, we practised giving the new care package to 11 people with dementia in their own homes. This was very successful and we now recommend that the package is tested further in randomised controlled clinical trials.