Frailty management in older patients: a best practice implementation project

Frailty in older adults can lead to a gradual decline in organ function. Without timely diagnosis and intervention, this condition can progress rapidly, increasing the risk of disability and mortality.

The aim of this project was to implement evidence-based practices for managing frailty in the medical ward to prevent disability in older patients.

This project was conceptually informed by the JBI Evidence Implementation Framework. This framework uses an audit and feedback approach and a pre- and post-test design to measure baseline compliance, develop implementation strategies responsive to gaps in compliance, and conduct a final evaluation to measure changes in compliance. JBI PACES and JBI GRiP situational analysis software were used to support data collection and implementation planning. Ten audit criteria were used with a sample of 30 patients in a regional teaching hospital in southern Taiwan.

The baseline audit showed poor compliance, with rates below 30% for all ten audit criteria. Through strategies such as professional training and education, the implementation of evidence-based care guidelines, and interdisciplinary consensus-building, the follow-up audit revealed an increase in compliance to over 90% for each audit criterion.

Frailty management strategies based on evidence-based audit criteria were implemented and routinely measured. The most effective strategies for improving compliance included the development of a training course, a digitized assessment tool, team meetings, interdisciplinary collaboration, communication, and consensus-building.

http://links.lww.com/IJEBH/A225.