Preventing falls in people with COPD and multiple long-term conditions

The AGE Research Group welcomed Professor Samantha Harrison to speak about her NIHR-funded research to prevent falls in people living with COPD and MLTC.

The AGE Research Group was delighted to host a recent seminar on falls prevention research by Professor Samantha Harrison, held in collaboration with the NIHR Newcastle Biomedical Research Centre.

Professor Harrison is Professor of Respiratory Rehabilitation at Teesside University and holds an NIHR Advanced Fellowship to investigate ways to prevent falls in people living with COPD and multiple long-term conditions. COPD is particularly common in communities in Teesside, and is associated with a high risk of falls, often at an earlier age than is seen in other communities. Professor Harrison leads a programme of work that links physiology, ethnography, applied research and clinical studies to find new and inclusive ways to tackle this challenge. Her talk showcased the B-PuRe programme of work (https://arc-nenc.nihr.ac.uk/projects/b-pure/ ) that her fellowship funds, and highlighted the central role that people living with COPD have played in the design and delivery of this research.

Professor Miles Witham from the AGE Research Group commented “Sam’s work is a great example of the power of bringing different methods together, and a reminder as researchers to focus on the question to be answered, not just on our familiar and favoured techniques”

“Her work also speaks to the importance of adapting existing exercise-based interventions for different groups of patients and fits well with the work that we are leading to prevent and treat multiple long-term conditions and their consequences through the MLTC cross-NIHR Collaboration. We are looking forward to working more closely with Sam on topics related to MLTC and we were delighted to hear about her work in person here in Newcastle”

Read more about Sam’s work here: https://research.tees.ac.uk/en/persons/samantha-harrison/ and about the MLTC CNC here: https://newcastlebrc.nihr.ac.uk/about-us/national-initiatives/4893-mltc-cnc