Background: Approximately 56% of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) will fall in any 3-month period, with the potential for physical, psychological, and social consequences. Fall-prevention research for people with MS is in its infancy, with a timely need to develop theory-based interventions that reflect the complexity of falls. The clear articulation of the development of any complex intervention is paramount to its future evaluation, usability, and effectiveness. Our aim was to describe how the development of Better Balance, a complex multicomponent fall-prevention intervention for people with MS, was guided by the Medical Research Council framework for the development of complex interventions.
Methods: Sources of information included existing literature, original research, clinician interviews, and views of people with MS. These sources were synthesized and refined through an iterative process of intervention development involving researchers, clinicians, and people with MS.
Results: The resulting intervention is outlined through a variety of key tasks supplementing the original Medical Research Council framework. Use of this framework resulted in a theoretically based and user-informed complex intervention designed to address the physiological, personal, and behavioral risk factors associated with falls in people with MS.
Conclusions: The articulation of the systematic process used to develop Better Balance will inform the future evaluation and usability of the intervention.
Keywords: Accidental falls; Fall prevention; Multiple sclerosis (MS); Rehabilitation research.
© 2021 Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers.