Educational programmes for frail older people, their families, carers and healthcare professionals

Abstract

Summary Background More people are living with frailty and requiring additional health and support services. To improve their management, the “Frailty: Core Capability Framework” in the United Kingdom recommends frailty education for older individuals, their families, carers and health professionals. We performed a systematic review of specific educational programmes for these groups. Methods Electronic databases were searched using dedicated search terms and inclusion criteria. To improve accuracy, two reviewers carried out the screening and selection of research papers. Information from included studies was collected using a tailored data extraction template, and quality appraisal tools were used to assess the rigour of the studies. The findings were analysed to identify key themes. Results A total of 11 studies met the criteria and were included in the review. The study populations ranged from 12 to 603 and the research designs were heterogeneous (6 qualitative; 2 randomised controlled trials; 1 quasi-experimental; 1 mixed methods; 1 cross-sectional study). Whilst some methodological shortcomings were identified, all studies contributed valuable information. The results underwent narrative synthesis, which elucidated four thematic domains: (1) accessibility of educational programmes, (2) empowerment, (3) self-care, and (4) health promotion (especially exercise and nutrition). Conclusion Educational programmes for older people, their carers and health professionals are important for effective frailty prevention and management. To be maximally beneficial, they should be easily accessible to all target populations and include empowerment, self-care and health promotion. Further research should explore the formulation of widely applicable, user-friendly programmes and delivery formats that can be tailored to different client groups.

Perspectives of older adults, caregivers, healthcare providers on frailty screening in primary care: a systematic review and qualitative meta-synthesis

“…Frailty can be positioned as a long-term condition because it shares similar characteristics as other long-term conditions, such as diabetes and arthritis [ 58 ]. Therefore, effective frailty prevention and management need to educate older people, their caregivers, and HCPs [ 42 , 59 ], and some researchers have aware of these needs [ 58 ].In 2018, the Health Education England and NHS England developed a framework of frailty core capacity of knowledge and skills for educating frail older people, their caregivers, and HCPs that contained four domains, fourteen capabilities [ 60 ], including a) understanding, identifying, and assessing frailty, b) person-centered collaborative working, c) managing frailty, d) underpinning principles. Moreover, some HCPs expressed their preference for online training formats (either on an individual basis or in small groups), the opportunity for a placement in geriatric care units, and practical skills demonstration [ 42 ].…”

Frailty knowledge level and its influencing factors among older adults in China

“…Therefore, the government should implement more frailty-related education in the community, and healthcare professionals should stay informed on the latest evidence and practices in identifying, measuring, and managing frailty in older adults. Moreover, multiple health promotion approaches for older adults should be adopted, and for educational programs to be successful, they must be tailored to older adults' preferences and circumstances [34,35].…”