Applying the RE-AIM Framework to Inform the Development of a Multiple Sclerosis Falls-Prevention Intervention

Successfully addressing the problem of falls among people with multiple sclerosis (MS) will require the translation of research findings into practice change. This process is not easy but can be facilitated by using frameworks such as RE-AIM during the process of planning, implementing, and evaluating MS falls-prevention interventions. RE-AIM stands for Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance. Since its initial publication in 1999, the RE-AIM framework has become widely recognized across a range of disciplines as a valuable tool to guide thinking about the development and evaluation of interventions intended for widespread dissemination. For this reason, it was selected by the International MS Falls Prevention Research Network to structure initial discussions with clinicians, people with MS, and representatives of professional and MS societies about the factors we need to consider in the development of an MS falls-prevention intervention for multisite testing that we hope will someday be disseminated widely. Through a combination of small-group work and large-group discussion, participants discussed four of the five RE-AIM elements. A total of 17 recommendations were made to maximize the reach (n = 3), adoption (n = 5), implementation (n = 4), and maintenance (n = 5) of the intervention the Network is developing. These recommendations are likely to be useful for any MS rehabilitation researcher who is developing and testing interventions that he or she hopes will be widely disseminated.