Supporting Better Conversations About Bone Health: Increasing Accessibility, Applicability, and Impact of iFraP Resources

Lead: Zoe Paskins

Dates: 01 February 2024 – 31 January 2026

Background:

IFraP (Improving Uptake of Fracture Prevention Treatment) is a suite of resources that supports patient-clinician discussions about osteoporosis, fracture risk and treatment options. The development has been informed by extensive research and underpinning theories of behaviour change, conducted as part of Zoe Paskins’ NIHR Clinician Scientist Award. iFraP aims to make the consultation more person-centred, so that the patient is able to participate fully, and also to increase rates of drug initiation and persistence.

Aims and Objectives:

This proposal outlines plans for further development work (complex intervention adaption) to increase accessibility, applicability, and impact of iFraP resources.

To enable more clinical and patient end-users to use and benefit from the tool, outside the FLS clinical context.
To enable more equitable access for people whose English is not their first language or have other communication barriers.

Specific plans:

Create additional versions of iFraP for other contexts beyond FLS and specialist osteoporosis clinics

Separating the clinical and patient components so that each can be used in isolation
Adapting the clinical component for non-specialist care
Enabling the patient component to be self-directed.
Amend existing training or roll out (use beyond iFrap trail)
Create three new stand-alone modules (estimated 30 mins long) about:
a. using the adapted tools for osteoporosis specialists
b. using the adapted tools for non-specialists
c. communicating about osteoporosis for non-specialists.

Methods:

Various methods including stakeholder (non-specialist) engagement to determine clinical decision-making needs using consensus methods as needed; expert osteoporosis advisors to support clinical logic algorithm changes needed; PPIE input to shape self-directed patient version of iFraP; and community (PPIE and Urdu speaking communities) engagement to determine cultural acceptability of tool and any adaptations needed to images, colours.