RÉSUMÉAvec le vieillissement de la population canadienne, la fragilité -avec son risque accru du déclin fonctionnel, la détérioration de la santé, et le décès -devient de plus en plus répandue. La physiologie de la fragilité refl ète son origine parmi organes et systèmes multiples. Environ un quart des Canadiens qui sont âgés de plus de 65 sont fragiles, augmentant à plus de la moitié de ceux âgés de plus de 85. Notre système de soins de santé est organisé pour gérer les systèmes mono-organes, ce qui nuit à notre capacité à traiter effi cacement les personnes atteintes de troubles multiples et des limitations fonctionnelles. Pour faire face à la fragilité, il faut reconnaître quand elle se produit, accroître la sensibilisation à son importance, développer des modèles holistiques pour ses soins, et générer des meilleures preuves pour son traitement. La reconnaissance de la façon dont la fragilité impacte la durée de vie permettrait l'intégration des objectifs en matière de soins dans les options de traitement. Les différents organisations de soins responsables variées dans le système de soins de santé canadien nécessiteront des stratégies et outils différentes pour évaluer la fragilité. Les changements dans la politique sera essentiels, étant donné la portée et la complexité des défi s que pose la fragilité au système de soins de santé comme cela est organisé actuellement. ABSTRACTAs Canada's population ages, frailty -with its increased risk of functional decline, deterioration in health status, and death -will become increasingly common. The physiology of frailty refl ects its multisystem, multi-organ origins. About a quarter of Canadians over age 65 are frail, increasing to over half in those older than 85. Our health care system is organized around single-organ systems, impairing our ability to effectively treat people having multiple disorders and functional limitations. To address frailty, we must recognize when it occurs, increase awareness of its signifi cance, develop holistic models of care, and generate better evidence for its treatment. Recognizing how frailty impacts lifespan will allow for integration of care goals into treatment options. Different settings in the Canadian health care system will require different strategies and tools to assess frailty. Given the magnitude of challenges frailty poses for the health care system as currently organized, policy changes will be essential.

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Purpose This first phase of a three-phase action research project aims to define leadership practices that should be used during and after the pandemic to re-imagine and rebuild the health and social care system. Specifically, the objectives were to determine what effective leadership practices Canadian health leaders have used through the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, to explore how these differ from pre-crisis practices; and to identify what leadership practices might be leveraged to create the desired health and care systems of the future. Design/methodology/approach The authors used an action research methodology. In the first phase, reported here, the authors conducted one-on-one, virtual interviews with 18 health leaders from across Canada and across leadership roles. Data were analyzed using grounded theory methodology. Findings Five key practices emerged from the data, within the core dimension of disrupting entrenched structures and leadership practices. These were, namely, responding to more complex emotions in self and others. Future practice identified to create more psychologically supportive workplaces. Agile and adaptive leadership. Future practice should allow leaders to move systemic change forward more quickly. Integrating diverse perspectives, within and across organizations, leveling hierarchies through bringing together a variety of perspectives in the decision-making process and engaging people more broadly in the co-creation of strategies. Applying existing leadership capabilities and experience. Future practice should develop and expand mentorship to support early career leadership. Communication was increased to build credibility and trust in response to changing and often contradictory emerging evidence and messaging. Future practice should increase communication. Research limitations/implications The project was limited to health leaders in Canada and did not represent all provinces/territories. Participants were recruited through the leadership networks, while diverse, were not demographically representative. All interviews were conducted in English; in the second phase of the study, the authors will recruit a larger and more diverse sample and conduct interviews in both English and French. As the interviews took place during the early stages of the pandemic, it may be that health leaders’ views of what may be required to re-define future health systems may change as the crisis shifts over time. Practical implications The sponsoring organization of this research – the Canadian Health Leadership Network and each of its individual member partners – will mobilize knowledge from this research, and subsequent phases, to inform processes for leadership development and, succession planning across, the Canadian health system, particularly those attributes unique to a context of crisis management but also necessary in post-crisis recovery. Social implications This research has shown that there is an immediate need to develop innovative and influential leadership action – commensurate with its findings – to supporting the evolution of the Canadian health system, the emotional well-being of the health-care workforce, the mental health of the population and challenges inherent in structural inequities across health and health care that discriminate against certain populations. Originality/value An interdisciplinary group of health researchers and decision-makers from across Canada who came together rapidly to examine leadership practices during COVID-19’s first wave using action research study design.