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

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Abstract

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 been implemented 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 = 178) 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%). In-hospital 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 60.1% of all hospitals. The intention to implement any of these care models in the next 5 years ranges from 10.3 to 25.4% and is the highest for co-management (36.5%), systematic screening of ED patients (36.2%) and transitional care programs (29.6%).

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 favor the implementation of the geriatric care models.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of Sofie Nullens and Ruth Ieven in the development and validation of the survey questionnaire, and Prof P. Sourtzi and Dr M. Velonaki for assisting in the data collection process in Greece. We also thank the national geriatric societies of Austria, Germany, UK, Luxembourg and Serbia for all their efforts in distributing the survey questionnaire in their countries. The study was funded by internal funds of the Gerontology and Geriatrics research unit of the University of Leuven in Belgium.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Gerontology and Geriatrics, Department of Chronic Diseases, Metabolism and Ageing, KU Leuven – University of Leuven, Herestraat 49, 3000, Leuven, Belgium

    Mieke Deschodt & Johan Flamaing

  2. Nursing Science, Department of Public Health, University of Basel, Bernoullistrasse 28, 4056, Basel, Switzerland

    Mieke Deschodt

  3. Geriatric Medicine, Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc & Research Institute of Health and Society, UCLouvain, Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium

    Benoit Boland

  4. Danish Geriatric Society & Herlev and Gentofte, Copenhagen University Hospital, Herlev Ringvej 75, 2730, Herlev, Denmark

    Cecilia M. Lund

  5. Estonian Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics (EGGA) & University of Tartu, Puusepa 8, L6027, 51014, Tartu, Estonia

    Kai Saks

  6. Hellenic Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics (HAGG), Kaniggos 23, 106 77, Athens, Greece

    Venetia-Sofia Velonaki

  7. The Icelandic Geriatrics Society & Landspitali University Hospital, Hringbraut 101, Reykjavík, Iceland

    Olafur Samuelsson

  8. Irish Society of Physicians in Geriatric Medicine & Department of Age-related Healthcare, Tallaght University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland

    Sean Kennelly

  9. Geriatric Medicine Society of Malta & Telghet G’Mangia, Rehabilitation Hospital Karin Grech, Pietà, Malta

    Mark Anthony Vassallo

  10. Slovene Geriatric Medicine Society & Geriatric Medicine Unit, Division of Internal Medicine, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, Vodnikova 62, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia

    Gregor Veninšek

  11. Belgian Society for Gerontology and Geriatrics & Department of Geriatric Medicine, University Hospitals Leuven, Herestraat 49, 3000, Louvain, Belgium

    Johan Flamaing

Authors
  1. Mieke Deschodt
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  2. Benoit Boland
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  3. Cecilia M. Lund
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  4. Kai Saks
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  5. Venetia-Sofia Velonaki
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  6. Olafur Samuelsson
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  7. Sean Kennelly
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  8. Mark Anthony Vassallo
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  9. Gregor Veninšek
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  10. Johan Flamaing
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mieke Deschodt.

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Ethical approval

The imAGE.eu study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the University of Leuven, Belgium (file number: mp13726).

Informed consent

Potential respondents received written information about the purpose of the study and were informed that participation in the study was voluntary.

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Deschodt, M., Boland, B., Lund, C.M. et al. Implementation of geriatric care models in Europe (imAGE.eu): a cross-sectional survey in eight countries. Eur Geriatr Med 9, 771–782 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41999-018-0107-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41999-018-0107-6

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