This is a national, remote study led by Dr. Caitlin McArthur at Dalhousie University (REB #2025-8103) which aims to adapt and implement fracture prevention guidelines, originally designed for the general and long-term care populations, for the home care environment. Your participation would contribute to guidelines which aim to reduce fracture risk in the Canadian home care population. The study involves 1-3 online surveys, 1 online meeting, and approximately 6 to 11 hours of your time for all required tasks. The number of survey rounds depend on when consensus is reached.
Patient‑oriented: This project is guided by field‑specific researchers and a patient partner who have contributed to project development and design. Participants will also identify research gaps in fractures, aging, and home care to ensure future work reflects what matters most to patients and supports improvements in health‑system outcomes.
Eligibility
If you are a home care recipient, you may participate if:
- You received a diagnosis of osteoporosis from a medical professional
- You are receiving/having received home care for 60 days or more. Home care services include personal support, nursing, and rehabilitative services (e.g., physiotherapy)
- You have fractured a bone or are at high risk of fracture.
- You reside in Canada
- You can provide informed consent
- You speak English
If you are a home care provider (informal or formal), you may participate if:
- You provide care and/or services to home care recipients who are at a high risk of fracture. This includes formal caregivers with professional qualifications (e.g., physiotherapist, nurse, occupational therapist) and informal caregivers (e.g., family member, friend). Researchers and professional with expertise pertaining to fracture risk, home care, osteoporosis, guideline development, etc. are also included in this category.
- If you provide home care services, you must have a minimum of six months of home care
- You speak English
Time Commitment
Start Date: January 2026
End Date: April 2026
Time is dependent on when consensus is reached. If all 3 rounds of surveys are required, it is anticipated that this study will require 6 to 11 hours of commitment with specific commitment times for each task of:
- Review of Consent Form = 30 minutes to 1 hour
- Round 1 = 1.5 to 3 hours for guideline familiarization and voting
- Round 2 = 1-2 hours – Round 3 = 1-2 hours
- Online meeting = 3 hours
Compensation
$250 honorarium offered