Health Needs Assessment in Home-Living Older Adults: Protocol for a Pre-Post Study

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Public Health
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• Health needs assessments are crucial for early detection and management of frailty in older adults.
• Such assessments improve health outcomes, well-being, and independence for aging in place.
• This study focuses on frailty and functional changes in home-living seniors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically assess changes in frailty levels in home-living older adults over five months.
• To examine observable functional changes from baseline (t1) to post-study (t2).
• To explore the feasibility of health needs assessments from the perspective of older adults and informal caregivers.

Main Methods:

• Interprofessional teams conducted health needs assessments covering physical, cognitive, psychological, social, and behavioral domains.
• A quantitative approach assessed frailty and functional changes in 40 home-living adults (≥75 years).
• A qualitative approach explored participant and caregiver perspectives on assessment feasibility.

Main Results:

• Baseline assessments were completed in July 2023, with ongoing second assessments.
• Results are anticipated for analysis in Spring 2024.
• Quantitative data include descriptive statistics, simple tests, plots, and correlation coefficients; qualitative data use thematic analysis.

Conclusions:

• The study offers benefits for older adults, caregivers, and healthcare professionals.
• Findings can inform future research on health needs assessments for this demographic.
• Results provide insights for local policymakers with potential national implications.