The Principal Investigator for the FaME Ireland project is Dr Ruth McCullagh, Lecturer in Physiotherapy in the School of Clinical Therapies at University College Cork.  Ruth's research project is funded by the Health Research Board and the HSE, and will run over two years (2024 - 2026).  We will be working closely with partners and colleagues in UCC, the HSE, RCSI and with Glasgow Caledonian University and the LaterLife Training team, along with other international academic partners, and a range of Irish based service providers involved in health, exercise, active aging and community based older people's services.

FaME implementation has been studied in the UK within the FLEXI Study, with Principal Investigator Professor Elizabeth Orton in Nottingham and funded by the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration. The FLEXI study builds on previous implementation work which produced the FaME Implementation Toolkit to aid commissioners of services. Specifically it is looking at rolling out FaME to new areas, updating the Toolkit and strategies to maintain fidelity to the effective intervention to ensure best outcomes for people at high risk of falls.  More information on the FLEXI study can be found here:

Nottingham University Research FLEXI Study 

An informatic describing some key statistics and findings from an evaluation in Devon, UK of a community based FaME programme is available here:  

Supporting Older People to Get Up, Stay Up and Live Their Best Lives!  

The Irish HRB funded FaME Ireland project will build on this work, and will evaluate how FaME has been implemented and rolled out in a number of 'early adopter' sites across Ireland (Kerry, Leitrim, North City Dublin), in particular examining reach, effectiveness, value and sustainability themes. 

Our primary aims over the length of the project are to (1) DEFINE current service provision and practice across Ireland, along with a deeper analysis of service provision in 3 early adopter sites (North City Dublin, Kerry and Leitrim), (2) to co-DESIGN adaptations and service improvement ideas with key stakeholders, and then (3) to DELIVER the service with the changes in place, and re-evaluate service delivery.   During 2024 and early 2025, the core team met and interviewed service providers (PSIs and physiotherapists) working in all three sites, and conducted a series of focus groups with participants in the FaME classes at the sites at both midway and towards the end of the programme. The findings from these visits, along with the results of a 2024 national online survey of Irish based PSI trained professionals, and emerging findings drawn from the December 2024 Ireland Falls/FaME Symposium, informed a series of 'co-design' events run for a range of local health care professionals and managers and community based and exercise professionals and leaders working in each of the early adopter areas in March, May and June.  These events explored the links and local development of strategies and networks required to improve and consolidate the service provision for healthy aging, exercise and physical activity and falls prevention and management in each area.  In small groups, delegates considered four broad key themes - access, engagement, partnerships and sustainability.  In addition a fourth co-design workshop was held in July for the FaME leads and PSIs working in each of the early adopter areas to look at operational and service adaptations that could be implemented by the current service providers.  The research team will then revisit each of the sites during the Autumn of 2025 and the Winter/Spring of 2026 for further observation.

The FaME Ireland project design has been developed in collaboration with those working in the health service, patients and policy makers.  Now that the project is up and running, we hope to engage with a broad range of stakeholders during the length of the project.  We will be interviewing and surveying a range of healthcare professionals, service providers and service users over the length of the project.  We want to engage with a range of policy makers and clinical leaders across Ireland to further develop and expend the range of evidence-based falls management exercise programmes available to clients in many more communities.  If you are interested in knowing more about the project, do get in touch with the team.