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Online platforms can support health and educational professionals in their daily work; however, it is challenging to keep online platforms sustainable. This paper aims to indicate the most important factors of platform sustainability from the perspective of professionals involved in online platforms. Further, it aims to understand how these factors operate. A mixed methods study was carried out among professionals from Europe, Australia, the USA and Canada. In the first phase, the importance of 54 factors from the literature was assessed with a questionnaire among 17 professionals. The relative importance of the factors and the consensus regarding this importance were calculated using median scores and interquartile deviations. In total, 19 factors were selected representing general characteristics, characteristics related to the platform, communication, visitor and context. In the second phase, insight was gained regarding the experiences with those factors through 12 individual Skype interviews. The most frequently mentioned important factors of platform sustainability were (i) having sufficient time, resources and expertise, (ii) user friendliness and (iii) creating a sense of belonging. Platforms should use a planned approach to address a combination of factors directly from platform development. Gaining long-term resources is challenging and should be considered from the start of a project by building partnerships. To promote user friendliness, platforms should be simple, have a clear set-up and provide high-quality tools. Finally, establishing a sense of belonging could be supported by branding and face-to-face networking activities. For all aspects, involving visitors and stakeholders is essential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

mcinnes e., seers k. & tutton l. (2011) Older people's views in relation to risk of falling and need for intervention: a meta-ethnography. Journal of Advanced Nursing 67(12), 2525-2536. Abstract Aim. This paper is a report of a meta-ethnography of qualitative studies of older peoples' views on risk of falling and need for intervention. Background. Falls and falls-related injuries in older people are worldwide problems. A conceptual understanding of older people's views about falls risk and need for intervention is useful for understanding factors likely to impact on acceptance of risk and recommended interventions. Data Sources. Seven electronic databases were searched 1999-2009. Reference lists of included articles were screened for eligible papers. Review Methods. Assessment of quality was carried out. Themes and concepts were extracted using a meta-ethnographic approach to compare similarities and differences across the retrieved studies. A line of argument was developed to produce an explanatory framework of the extracted themes and concepts. Results. Eleven relevant qualitative research articles of reasonable quality were identified. Six key concepts were identified: beyond personal control; rationalizing; salience; life-change and identity; taking control and self-management. A line of argument synthesis describes how older people approach self-appraisal of falls risk and intervention need, and how they cope and adapt to falls risk and intervention need. Conclusion. In response to having an elevated risk status and perceived associations with frailty and impact on an independent life-style, some prefer to adapt to this reality by taking control and implementing self-management strategies. Healthcare professionals should take into account beliefs about risk and negotiate choices for intervention, recognizing that some individuals prefer to drive the decision-making process to preserve identity as a competent and independent person. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]