Identifying and managing people at risk of frailty in general practice – an implementation evaluation
Principal Advisor: Professor Claire Jackson
Email: c.jackson@uq.edu.au
Research group: Centre for Health System Reform and Integration
Organisational unit: Mater Research Institute-UQ
The increasing number of older adults with frailty is placing a heavy demand on our healthcare system. With a growing body of evidence indicating that frailty can be treated and improved, there is a need for a simple low-cost strategy that healthcare policy makers can easily adopt. Frailty identification is not routine in general practice. Early identification of those older adults with risk of frailty in the community, and provision of targeted community-based interventions or therapies has been shown to decrease the negative outcomes associated with being frail. The FRAIL Scale tool is a recognised method of assessing for risk of frailty and our work to date has demonstrated feasibility and acceptability for use in general practice. Our centre is evaluating the broader implementation of the tool. Using mixed methods, the PhD candidate will:
- Determine barriers and enablers to implementation of the tool in general practice using qualitative interviews with stakeholders.
- Develop tailored implementation strategies to enhance implementation.
- Evaluate adoption, effectiveness, and sustainability of the FRAIL Scale.
With experienced supervisors in health services research and implementation science, this project will result in high-quality research outputs including publications and conference presentations.