Table 1 Canadian Initiative on Frailty and Aging (CIFA) systematic literature review questions and investigators
Questions | Research Questions | Question Leaders |
|---|---|---|
Biological basis | What are the biological and physiological determinants of frailty? How can these determinants be used to understand, define, predict and characterize frailty? | T. Fulop, MD PhD Université de Sherbrooke G. Duque, MD PhD University of Sydney D. Hogan, MD University of Calgary |
Social basis | How has frailty been conceptualized from a social perspective? How are social factors related to frailty (as determinants, modifiers and consequences) over the life course? | M. Penning, PhD University of Victoria F. Béland, PhD Université de Montréal |
Prevalence | What is the prevalence of frailty in the community dwelling elderly? Does prevalence vary by sex, age, ethnic group, availability of health services? How does prevalence vary according to the definitions used? | C. Wolfson, PhD McGill University H. Bergman, MD McGill University |
Risk factors | What factors have been shown to predict frailty, functional decline, disability, mortality or increased resource utilization? What factors have been shown to predict successful aging? | G. Naglie, MD University of Toronto S. Gill, MD Queen's University |
Impact on the individual, relatives and health services utilization | What impact does frailty have on affected individuals? What impact does frailty have on relatives of affected individuals? What impact does frailty have on the health care system? | B. Santos-Eggiman, MD PhD Université de Lausanne L. Seematter-Bagnoud, MD Université de Lausanne |
Identification | What are the clinical operational diagnostic criteria? What are the tools for the screening and diagnosis, and investigation of frailty? Are there measures of severity of frailty? | S. Sternberg, MD Maccabi Healthcare Services, Israel A.M. Clarfield, MD Ben Gurion University |
Prevention and Management | Can interventions aimed at the general population prevent frailty? Can interventions aimed at the general population prevent the consequences of frailty e.g. death, institutional admission, etc? Can interventions aimed at those who are frail or at risk of frailty, prevent the consequences of frailty? | C. Patterson, MD McMaster University J. Feightner, MD University of Western Ontario |
Environment and Technology | What technological interventions have been demonstrated to increase quality of life and safety for frail older adults? Which technologies are not effective? What are the common characteristics of those technologies that have been found to be effective? What are the needs or opportunities for technologies to assist frail older adults and their caregivers that have not been adequately addressed? | G. Fernie, PhD University of Toronto B. Row, PhD Toronto Rehabilitation Institute |
Health services | What are the integrated models of care delivery for the frail elderly? What are the trends in Canada on care delivery compared to the international literature? Are there comparative outcomes for different models of care, and to what extent have such models been evaluated? What are the common characteristics of the identified models of care and what are the consistencies of such characteristics? | M. Hollander, PhD Hollander Analytical Services, Victoria F. Béland, PhD Université de Montréal |
Health and social policy | What are the key policy issues in regard to care delivery and/or funding for the frail elderly? What are the issues, alternatives and recommended solutions? What are the broader "meta" issues, which may be reflected in the set of policy issues? What recommendations can be made to decision-makers? | M. Hollander, PhD Hollander Analytical Services, Victoria N. Chappell, PhD University of Victoria M. Prince, PhD University of Victoria |