Turabi, Ruqayyah Y., O'Connell, Matthew D. L., Wyatt, David, Bretherton, Chris, Cannon, Simon, Gregson, Celia L, Moppett, Iain, McNicoll, Lynn and Sheehan, Katie Jane (2025). Weight-bearing and mobilisation timing after hip fracture surgery in older adults: an international survey of clinicians' perspectives. European Geriatric Medicine, 16 , pp. 909-920.
Abstract
Purpose This exploratory study aimed to describe international variations in mobilisation timing and weight-bearing after hip fracture surgery, focusing on differences between high-income countries (HICs) and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and identify the possible reasons for these variations. Methods This international cross-sectional study was administered through an online, English-language, self-reported questionnaire. Healthcare professionals from various multidisciplinary teams were invited to participate via professional organisations, including the Fragility Fracture Network, social media, and through snowballing from key individual stakeholders. Results A total of 389 healthcare professionals from 71 countries participated in the survey. Among them, 72.5% prescribed mobilisation the day after surgery, higher in HICs (79.1%) than LMICs (56.3%). Of those who prescribed early mobilisation, 38.3% achieved it 76–100% of the time, more frequently in HICs (42.9%) than LMICs (21.9%). Additionally, 73.5% prescribed unrestricted weight-bearing, also more common in HICs (86.3%) than LMICs (41%). For those who prescribed unrestricted weight-bearing, 50.4% achieved it 76–100% of the time, with HICs at 54.0% and LMICs at 31.9%. Multiple patient-related, process-related, and structure-related barriers were reported, with structure-related barriers more common in LMICs than HICs, underscoring the global complexities in implementing these practices. Conclusion This study offers insights into global variations in the timing of mobilisation and weight-bearing after hip fracture surgery in older adults. It reveals disparities in postoperative services and resources between HICs and LMICs. Additionally, it establishes a foundation for future research and underscores the importance of international collaboration and knowledge sharing in enhancing postoperative care services.
| Publication DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1007/s41999-025-01205-z |
|---|---|
| Divisions: | College of Business and Social Sciences Aston University (General) |
| Funding Information: | KS receives funding from UK Research & Innovation and the National Institutes of Health Research (NIHR) for hip fracture health services research not related to the current manuscript. KS is the Chair-elect of the Scientific Committee of the Fragility Fracture Network. DW has received NIHR funding that is unrelated to the current work. MOC has received NIHR funding that is unrelated to the current work. CG is funded by the NIHR (ref: NIHR302394). RT is sponsored for this PhD by Jazan University, which is affiliated with the Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia. IM has/is in receipt of grant funding from NIHR, British Journal of Anaesthesia for hip fracture related research. He is a member of the NICE CG124 (hip fracture) group. LM, CB, and SC declare no conflict of interest. We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to the Hip Fracture Recovery Research Special Interest Group (SIG) of the Fragility Fracture Network for their invaluable support of this project. This work acknowledges the support of the National Institute for Health Research Barts Biomedical Research Centre (NIHR203330). For the purposes of open access, the author has applied a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence to any Accepted Author Manuscript version arising from this submission. |
| Additional Information: | Copyright © The Author(s) 2025. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | International,Mobilization timing,Neck of femur fracture,Orthogeriatric,Rehabilitation,Weight-bearing,Cross-Sectional Studies,Humans,Middle Aged,Early Ambulation/methods,Male,Practice Patterns, Physicians',Developed Countries,Time Factors,Female,Surveys and Questionnaires,Weight-Bearing,Aged,Developing Countries,Hip Fractures/surgery,Gerontology,Geriatrics and Gerontology |
| Publication ISSN: | 1878-7649 |
| Last Modified: | 02 Feb 2026 17:20 |
| Date Deposited: | 08 Jan 2026 11:22 |
| Full Text Link: | |
| Related URLs: |
https://link.sp ... 999-025-01205-z
(Publisher URL) http://www.scop ... tnerID=8YFLogxK (Scopus URL) |
PURE Output Type: | Article |
| Published Date: | 2025-06-01 |
| Published Online Date: | 2025-04-18 |
| Accepted Date: | 2025-04-02 |
| Authors: |
Turabi, Ruqayyah Y.
O'Connell, Matthew D. L. Wyatt, David ( 
0000-0001-5859-7389)
Bretherton, Chris Cannon, Simon Gregson, Celia L Moppett, Iain McNicoll, Lynn Sheehan, Katie Jane |
![[img]](https://publications.aston.ac.uk/style/images/fileicons/text.png)