Implementation of geriatric care models in Europe (imAGE.eu): a cross-sectional survey in eight countries

• Published in: European Geriatric Medicine
• Main Authors: Deschodt, Mieke, Boland, Benoît, Lund, Cecilia M., Saks, Kai, Velonaki, Venetia-Sofia, Samuelsson, Olafur, Kennelly, Sean, Vassallo, Mark Anthony, VeninÅ¡ek, Gregor, Flamaing, Johan
• Other Authors: UCL - SSS/IRSS - Institut de recherche santé et société
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Springer Nature America, Inc 2018
• Subjects: Models of care; Comprehensive geriatric assessment; Implementation; Survey; Iceland
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/214114; https://doi.org/10.1007/s41999-018-0107-6

Purpose: Despite the beneficial impact of comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA)for older patients in the hospital, it is not clear to what extent these models have beenimplemented in European hospitals. This study aims to map the implementation status of CGA-based models of care in general hospitals in Europe. Methods: A cross-sectional survey study was conducted in autumn 2017 to map the implementation status of CGA-based care models in general hospitals (n = 180) in Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Malta, and Slovenia. Results: Acute geriatric units are implemented in all of the Belgian and the majority of Danish hospitals, but are scarce in Malta, Estonia, Slovenia and Greece. Geriatric rehabilitation units are most common in Ireland (63.6%) and Iceland (75%). Multidisciplinary geriatric consultation teams are widely implemented in Belgium (100%), Ireland (72.7%) and Denmark (59.1%), but are rare in Malta, Iceland, Estonia and Greece. Transitional care programs to ensure continuity of care after discharge are present in 59.8% of all hospitals. The intention to implement any of the care models in the next five years ranges from 10.3% to 25.2% and is the highest for comanagement(36.2%), systematic screening of ED patients (35.9%) and transitional care programs (29.2%). Conclusions: A great variety in the implementation of CGA-based care models was observed among the surveyed EU countries with the uptake being the highest in Belgium, Denmark and Ireland. A supportive legislative framework and a residency training in geriatrics favour the implementation of the care models