WP5 will deliver tutor training to 3-5 health and leisure professionals in at least 15 regions over the first 18 months of the project. Later Life Training (LLT) has successfully trained over 4000 instructors in the UK since 2003 and achieved exemplary reach to older people with a history of falls through their evidence based, nationally standardised and accredited training.

The Cascade Tutor (CT) training will involve first the qualification in both the four day Otago Exercise Programme (OEP) Leaders Course (Campbell et al. 1997, Dinan et al. 2012) and the one day Motivate Me (MMe) course which will give them skills to train the instructors in having conversations with older people about barriers to exercise and being active and about motivators that should enhance uptake and adherence to exercise to prevent falls. The CTs will also be given the skills to teach backward chaining (retraining getting down to and up off the floor) and the other necessary components of fitness necessary to meet International guidelines on physical activity for older people (warm up, endurance, flexibility and cool down) on top of the strength and balance training provided. These will be short components of the Postural Stability Instructor (PSI) Course (Skelton et al. 2005, Skelton et al. 2012).

The CTs will then receive the training necessary for them to cascade train the OEP course locally, which will allow the tailoring of exercise to suit the individuals they will work and for the instructors to run both group sessions and one to one supported home delivery for those who are more frail or who do not want to attend group sessions.

The new tutors will be required to translate the student manuals and course paperwork into their own language and these will form the basis of future training courses in their regions. The training will be both online and face to face to ensure correct technique, safe and effect tailoring and ability to teach and support the new instructors that they will train.

WP5 work closely with REPS Europe and other organisations (such as physiotherapy councils) to ensure that the training courses delivered by these tutors in their own regions is accredited and quality assured. The aim, once initial tutor training is complete, is to have a network of at least 60 CTs across 15 regions cascade training at least 2 new instructor courses a year (to 10-15 new instructors) each year – so that the network of trained instructors grows each year across Europe. Depending on how many older people each instructor works with over a year, based on the UK experience, this will have the potential reach of 43,000 to 140,000 older people a year receiving effective falls prevention exercises.

Although the cascade training cannot be free (or it will not be sustainable) the cost will be set by the tutors so that it is feasible within the regions and for the target population. A small royalty back to LLT for the use of the online training portal will allow constant update of materials, quality assurance, provision of certification and online and telephone/skype support from LLT. This will also cover a small fee back to LLT for the IP of the original and updated training materials.

The instructors who are trained in the delivery of evidence based exercise will work for a variety of organisations and the cost (or not) to older people to attend the exercise sessions or receive home based support of exercise will be dictated by their own organisations (not set by LLT or ProFouND).

An article in E-REPS (European Register of Exercise Professionals) about the Otago Strength and Balance Exercise Leaders trained across Europe (through ProFouND WP5) and the benefits of the Otago exercise programme. Pg 19-24 of article.

EuropeActive.pdf

You can view some short video trailers of some of the cascade training below and also a short video for Swedish Cascade Trainers on the ProFouND project and Cascade Training (in English) below.

Short Video Trailer of the Stuttgart (Germany) CT training
Short Video Trailer of the Trondheim (Norway) CT Training
Longer Video about the ProFouND Cascade Training (on a Swedish website but in English)
ProFouND Cascade Training Budapest, Hungary – 27-31 August 2015
proFouND Utrecht Cascade Trainers June 2015
ProFouND Cascade Training Empoli, Italy – March 2015
ProFouND Barcelona Cascade Training 2015
ProFouND OEP CT Training Madrid Jan 2015
ProFouND OEP CT Lamia 2014 Official
ProFouND WP5 Cascade Training in Umea

D5.1) Home exercise booklets distributed for translation into different languages [month 1]
D5.2) Updated Protocol for Tutor Training Feb 2014 &
Original Protocol for Tutor Training Aug 2013 [month 4]
D5.3) Online Resources to support tutor training [month 6]
D5.4) Protocol for Quality Assurance of Newly Qualified Cascade Trainers [month 9]
D5.5) Interim report on trained tutors: number of training courses, reach and implementation. Expectation of at least 45 trainers from at least 15 regions [month 24]
D5.6) Final report on trained tutors: Final report on number of trained tutors, number of training courses, reach and implementation. [month 36]
D5.7) Follow Me – Film Version of Otago [month 36]

A full listing of Otago Exercise Programme Cascade Trainers across Europe can be found here