Healthcare Professionals’ Perspectives on Interdisciplinary Teamwork for Falls Prevention Among Older Adults in Hospital Settings: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Background/Objectives. Falls among hospitalized older adults remain a persistent patient-safety concern. Interdisciplinary teamwork is widely recommended for falls prevention, but how it is conceptualized and operationalized in hospital settings has not been systematically mapped. This scoping review aimed to map healthcare professionals’ perspectives on this teamwork. Methods. The review followed the Arksey and O’Malley framework and the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology and was reported in accordance with PRISMA-ScR. The protocol was registered retrospectively on the Open Science Framework. Five databases were searched on 10 August 2026 for peer-reviewed studies published in English or Arabic between 2013 and 2025. Reference lists of included studies were checked, and a supplementary MEDLINE sensitivity search was conducted. Two reviewers independently screened database records and assessed all full texts, and data were charted and analyzed descriptively. Results. Twenty-one studies from eight countries were included. The evidence was organized into four descriptive categories, namely roles and shared accountability, communication and coordination, organizational influences, and interprofessional education and patient engagement. Healthcare professionals valued interdisciplinary teamwork, but shared accountability was not consistently operationalized, communication barriers were often related to information systems and workflow, and organizational conditions frequently constrained collaborative practice. Conclusions. The evidence base is small and predominantly descriptive, and no study reported a statistically significant reduction in falls. Future research should examine how teamwork processes relate to falls outcomes across diverse hospital systems.