Advanced Clinical Practice and frailty survey

The population is getting older. For some people this can mean having several health problems and difficulty doing everyday things. Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) is a process involving older people (usually aged 65 and over), their families, and health and social care staff to identify and help manage these problems and prevent new problems arising.

The health and care workforce is under considerable pressure to meet the needs of older people. Nurses, pharmacists and other health professionals, such as physiotherapists, are taking on new roles called ‘advanced clinical practitioners’ or ACPs. These roles are for experienced staff who have the skills and understanding to support older people with multiple health problems. Research has shown ACPs help health services be more efficient and patients report high satisfaction when they see ACPs. The pandemic has changed how health care is delivered. People have fewer face-to-face hospital and GP surgery appointments. For some people more appointments are being done remotely, using the phone or video calls. Some staff use equipment to monitor their patients’ health.

Older people living with frailty and their family members have told us their health care is often inefficient. Staff do not always have the knowledge and skills needed to support their complex needs. ACPs are able to meet these needs and use CGA but there has been no research done about their roles and how they work.

We plan to do an online survey of UK-based ACPs who work specifically with older people and those living with frailty who are not in hospital. We want to:

• know about who they are and where they work;

• understand the type of work they do;

• explore whether they use any technology during appointments or when monitoring people’s health

• explore how technology might be useful or not in the future.

We will develop the survey in discussion with older people, their families, and health and care professionals to make sure we include questions that are important to them. They will also help us interpret the findings and develop materials to share the findings.

We will invite ACPs to take part using national professional networks and social media, such as Facebook or Twitter.

The findings will help us understand current practice of ACPs and how these roles can help develop new ways of supporting older people’s healthcare. We will share findings with participants, relevant networks and at academic conferences.

Amount Awarded: £34,257