Comprehensive geriatric assessment to identify quality of life needs.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Identification of palliative care needs for adults with frailty using hospital based comprehensive geriatric assessment – a multiple case study.
IRAS ID
353853
Contact name
Phoebe Sharratt
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Lancaster University
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 6 months, 5 days
Research summary
This study looks at a type of healthcare assessment recommended for older people. We will look at specialists completing the assessment in hospital. We will be looking at needs that affect an older person's quality of life. We want to understand how the assessment can help to identify these needs.
Palliative care is a type of medical care that aims to improve people's quality of life. People who can benefit from palliative care have life-limiting illnesses. Older people with frailty are one group who could benefit. Frailty results from changes due to ageing and medical illnesses. People with frailty are less likely to recover in full from a stressful event e.g. a fall or urine infection. We know that people with frailty have palliative care, or quality of life, needs. Currently healthcare professionals are not very good at identifying those needs.
Comprehensive geriatric assessment is the assessment this study will look at. This assessment is recommended for older people with frailty. It is performed by specialists in the care of older people. It reviews all the problems a person has. This could include problems affecting quality of life. This study will look at three hospital teams performing the assessment. We aim to understand if quality of life needs are identified, how and why.
To achieve this, we will watch specialists performing the assessment in hospital. We will also interview specialists, people with frailty and those close to them. We will bring together different peoples experience's of the assessment. By doing this we will be able to understand how and why quality of life needs are identified.
In the short term, we can understand how best to identify qualify of life needs for people with frailty. In the long term, it could improve the availability of the assessment for older people.
REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Bradford Leeds Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/YH/0121
Date of REC Opinion
14 Jul 2025
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion