Determinants Of Implementing Fall Risk Screening For Older Adults In Primary Care Settings: Protocol For A Scoping Review

Falls are a major global health issue among older adults, leading to substantial physical, psychological and economic burdens. Fall risk screening is essential for early identification of high-risk individuals and enables targeted preventive interventions. Primary care, as the first point of contact in healthcare, is well-positioned to implement screening due to its accessibility and broad population coverage. However, existing reviews have examined fall prevention in primary care broadly, while evidence on the factors influencing the implementation of routine fall risk screening, including barriers and facilitators, remains fragmented and has not yet been comprehensively synthesised. This scoping review aims to systematically identify and synthesise determinants influencing the implementation of fall risk screening in primary care, guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research and Normalization Process Theory.

The scoping review will be conducted following the methodological guidelines suggested by the Joanna Briggs Institute and reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews checklist. Eight electronic databases (Web of Science, PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, SinoMed and Wanfang) will be searched from database inception to 31 July 2026 without language restrictions. Targeted searches of relevant grey literature sources will also be conducted. Two reviewers will independently screen and conduct data extraction. Any discrepancies that arise will be resolved through consultation with a third reviewer. The data will be analysed and presented in tables, flow diagrams and narrative text.

Ethical approval is not required for this scoping review. The results will be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal and presented at academic conferences.

Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/8jh64).