Author Archives: Jasmine Menant

Promoting physical activity across settings

A webinar presented by the ANZFPS Early-Mid Career Researcher Sub-Committee

Presenters: Prof. Pazit Levinger, Prof. Debra Waters, Dr. Christina Ekegren

The webinar took place on the 8th May 2023. Prof Levinger discussed the use of the Seniors Exercise Parks to improve physical activity and reduce fall risk. Prof Waters discussed the “Steady As You GO” program, an effective model of community-based peer-led exercise in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Dr Ekegren discussed physical activity and sedentary behaviour in hospital settings.

The recording of the 75min webinar is available here.


 Prof Pazit Levinger is a Principal Researcher (Accredited Exercise Physiologist) at National Aging Research Institute. Prof Levinger also holds honorary positions at the Rehabilitation, Ageing and Independent Living Research Centre, Monash University and the Institute for Health and Sports, Victoria University. Prof Levinger’s current research focuses on research translation and community work with local government engagement. Prof Levinger is an expert in the area of age-friendliness outdoor sites specifically designed for older people, and currently works closely with government bodies in strategic development and planning around the built environment and public health impact.

Prof Debra Waters is the Director of Gerontology Research at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. She also holds a Research Professor appointment at the University of New Mexico, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Prof Waters is the co-director of the Otago Falls Network, an executive member of the Australia and New Zealand Falls Prevention Society and on the steering committee of the International Conference on Sarcopenia and Frailty Research (ICFSR). Prof Waters’s research career has been focused on maintaining physical function and preventing sarcopenia and falls in older adults.

Dr Christina Ekegren is a Senior Research Fellow within the Rehabilitation, Ageing and Independent Living  Research Centre. Dr Ekegren research focuses on physical activity in clinical populations, specifically hospitalised patients, older adults, and people recovering from traumatic injury. Dr Ekegren is currently a registered physiotherapist and adjunct researcher with the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, an Honorary Fellow at Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, an Honorary Research Fellow of the Emergency and Trauma Centre, Alfred Health, and a Research Collaborator with the Centre for Ageing Solutions for Mobility, Activity, Rehabilitation and Technology at Vancouver Coastal Health.

Bids for hosting the 2025 ANZFPS conference – NOW CLOSED

The bids for hosting the 2025 biennial conference of the Australia and New Zealand Falls Prevention Society (ANZFPS) are now open. In accordance with bylaws, if you attended the ANZFPS conference online in 2021 you are deemed a member of ANZFPS and are eligible to make a bid. If you wish to do so, send your bid to the ANZFPS Secretary, Dr Anna Hatton, at a.hatton1@uq.edu.au.

The call will close on 16th December 2022. The ANZFPS Executive Council will consider each bid based on merit and announce the successful host in an email to our members and on the ANZFPS website in the New Year.

For more information on the bid process, please email the ANZFPS Secretary, Dr Anna Hatton at a.hatton1@uq.edu.au or the ANZFPS President, Professor Kim Delbaere at k.delbaere@neura.edu.au.

World Guidelines for Falls Prevention

The “World Guidelines for Falls Prevention and Management for Older Adults: A Global Initiative” have just been published in Age & Ageing. The guidelines consist of a set of evidence- and expert consensus-based falls prevention and management recommendations applicable to older adults for use by healthcare and other professionals. 

Check out this link to access the article:  

https://academic.oup.com/ageing/article/51/9/afac205/6730755

Seminar 1 from the Centre of Research Excellence in the Prevention of Fall-related Injuries (CRE-PFI)

Wednesday 16th March 2022 (12pm-1pm Sydney time).

Professor Terry Haines, Monash University
“The Stepped-Wedge, Cluster-Randomized Trial: Enabling Change while Generating Evidence”

Zoom link (12-1pm) https://uni-sydney.zoom.us/j/89843309774

Prof Terry Haines, CRE Chief Investigator
Head of School, School of Primary and Allied Health Care at Monash University. This follows his previous appointment as Director of Monash Health & Monash University Allied Health Research Unit, Monash Health. He has pursued work in the areas of falls prevention, implementation science and translation of evidence into policy and practice.
http:// https://www.monash.edu/medicine/spahc/about-us/school-staff/thaines