Hip fracture is a common injury in older people and is usually caused by a fall. Typically, surgery is required to repair the fracture often using implants including a combination of metal screws and plates attached to the thigh bone (femur). Hip fracture is more common in people with dementia and their recovery is often more difficult. The aim of the rehabilitation is to try and enable the person to walk and live as independently as possible.

Many healthcare professionals are involved in the rehabilitation of people with dementia who fracture their hip. Physiotherapists often have a significant role in the rehabilitation process, with the aim to try and improve the ability to walk again and participate in activities of everyday life. The rehabilitation process starts immediately after surgery and will continue often for many months in their own home or care home. However, despite this, there is little evidence to help support physiotherapists in the most effective ways to treat these people.

The aim of this project is to work out how physiotherapists can best treat people with dementia who break their hip, particularly those people who have more severe dementia. Recommendations and a treatment will be developed which can then be checked to see whether it may be useful to help people with dementia after they break their hip.

The results of the study will be written up in journals and presented at relevant conferences, it will also be shared on social media and presented at local memory cafés and support groups. The long-term aim of the project is to develop recommendations to help people with dementia get better after they break their hip.