Louise Egan

Louise is a Senior Lecturer in Physiotherapy within the School of Health and Life Sciences. With experience in both academic and clinical settings, she specialises in physiotherapy for older people and has a particular interest in falls, frailty, and deconditioning within this population.

Louise holds a Master’s Degree in Physiotherapy and, prior to joining the academic community, worked extensively within the NHS, where she co-created a locality-wide falls prevention initiative. This project involved close collaboration with healthcare professionals and stakeholders to analyse and enhance the existing NHS falls prevention service, demonstrating her ability to integrate clinical data, patient feedback, and best practices into effective healthcare solutions.

In academia, Louise is committed to delivering high-quality education informed by the latest evidence. She contributes via teaching, curriculum development, and module leadership for a range of BSc and MSc modules, ensuring that physiotherapy students are well-prepared for evidence-based practice. She is also involved in the assessment of students through practical exams, written assessments, and oral evaluations, rigorously measuring competencies against set criteria to maintain high educational standards.

As Practice Education Lead, Louise has significantly enhanced the placement allocation process for physiotherapy students, ensuring that educational objectives are met within the clinical setting.

Louise also leads on the university's frailty CPD offer, which involves the development and delivery of masterclasses and accredited postgraduate modules for a wide range of health professionals.

Louise's research interests are primarily focused on falls prevention, frailty, and deconditioning in older adults. Her work aims to improve rehabilitation outcomes and enhance the quality of life for this population through evidence-based practices and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Currently, Louise is engaged in a qualitative review exploring health professionals' experiences of working with frail older patients. This study aims to uncover the challenges and insights of healthcare providers, ultimately informing better practices and policies to support frail older adults more effectively.

In addition to this, Louise is involved in supporting the B-PuRe (Balance training delivered alongside Pulmonary Rehabilitation to reduce falls risk for people with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) project. This initiative focuses on integrating balance training with pulmonary rehabilitation to prevent falls and manage frailty in individuals with COPD, contributing to the broader goal of promoting health and independence among elderly individuals.

Louise's research endeavors are driven by a commitment to advancing physiotherapy practices and improving patient care through rigorous analysis and practical application of research findings. She always welcomes expressions of interest to collaborate on research projects, fostering a collaborative approach to advancing knowledge and improving outcomes in physiotherapy.

Louise is committed to maintaining her professional skills and is actively involved in multiple professional networks. She sits on the National Executive Committee of AGILE CSP as Education Officer and has represented the committee at the National Falls Prevention Coordination Group and Chartered Society of Physiotherapy steering groups. Her involvement in these groups includes participating in national and international forums, where she communicates expert knowledge on frailty management and falls prevention, drawing on both her research and practical experiences.

Louise’s professional network involvement has enabled her to contribute to the development of various resources aimed at promoting physical activity and reconditioning following the Covid-19 pandemic. She was also instrumental in creating a suite of resources to encourage collaborative working between physiotherapists and exercise professionals via the ‘Collaborate Don’t Compete’ campaign and has recently contributed to an NHS Highland initiative to promote movement in hospital settings.

Through involvement in these professional networks, Louise's professional visibility has increased, and her expertise has been sought by numerous organisations. These opportunities have allowed her to extend her influence and foster professional relationships that enhance the educational landscape for current and future healthcare professionals.

Some of the organisations that have invited Louise to deliver webinars include:

- The Enhanced Care of Older People (EnCOP) community of practice
- Later Life Training (a nationally recognised training provider for exercise professionals)
- Adapt CSP – Physiotherapists for Global Health (a recognised Professional Network of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy)

Additionally, Louise works as a tutor for Later Life Training, delivering specialist, evidence-based, effective exercise training for health and exercise professionals working with older people.

Louise holds a Fellowship from Advance HE, earned after completing a Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education. This recognition underscores her commitment to teaching excellence and her ability to enhance student learning through innovative educational practices.