Advanced practice nurses' experiences of patient safety: a focus group study.

BACKGROUND: Patient harm from unsafe care is an increasingly global phenomenon leading to death or disability. Drawing on their expertise, Advanced Practice Nurses provide the opportunity to improve care quality and safety. AIM: To explore Nurse Practitioners and Clinical Nurse Consultants' experiences in patient safety. DESIGN: A qualitative design was used involving six audio-visually recorded focus group interviews. Participants working in an acute or community adult nursing speciality were involved. METHODS: Twenty-eight Advanced Practice Nurses (female 82.1%, mean age 47.5 ± 10 years) were recruited by convenience and snowball sampling. After transcription of interview data, qualitative content analysis was conducted. RESULTS: Six categories were identified: patient safety as the highest priority (1), special contribution to patient safety (2), patients/relatives role in safety (3), multidisciplinary team approach (4), government regulation in safety (5), and further needs to improve safety (6). Advanced Practice Nurses saw themselves as role models and leaders for other healthcare staff through their expertise and professional experience and thus able to see the bigger picture in health. They identified as change agents at the system-level due to their decision-making ability and multi-professional team connectivity. CONCLUSIONS: This study emphasises the key position of extended nursing roles and the need for future development of patient safety strategies in hospitals and community care. As influential leaders, Advanced Practice Nurses are best placed to identify improvements. They play a central role in guiding the multi-professional team, the patient and their family, educating nursing staff, and identifying and addressing system-wide safety gaps to improve patient safety.

Cardiogenic Shock Challenges and Priorities: A Clinician Survey.

BACKGROUND: Cardiogenic shock (CS) is common and survival outcomes have not substantially improved. Australia's geography presents unique challenges in the management of CS. The challenges and research priorities for clinicians pertaining to CS identification and management have yet to be described. METHOD: We used an exploratory sequential mixed methods design. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 clinicians (medical and nursing) to identify themes for quantitative evaluation. A total of 143 clinicians undertook quantitative evaluation through online survey. The interviews and surveys addressed current understanding of CS, status of cardiogenic systems and future research priorities. RESULTS: There were 143 respondents: 16 (11%) emergency, cardiology 22 (16%), 37 (26%) intensive care, 54 (38%) nursing. In total, 107 (75%) believe CS is under-recognised. Thirteen (13; 9%) of respondents indicated their hospital had existing CS teams, all from metropolitan hospitals, and 40% thought additional access to mechanical circulatory support devices was required. Five (5; 11%) non-tertiary hospital respondents had not experienced a delay in transfer of a patient in CS. All respondents felt additional research, particularly into the management of CS, was required. CONCLUSIONS: Clinicians report that CS is under-recognised and further research into CS management is required. Access to specialised CS services is still an issue and CS protocolised pathways may be of value.

Nurses' Use of mHealth Apps for Chronic Conditions: Cross-Sectional Survey.

BACKGROUND: Mobile health (mHealth) is increasingly used to support public health practice, as it has positive benefits such as enhancing self-efficacy and facilitating chronic disease management. Yet, relatively few studies have explored the use of mHealth apps among nurses, despite their important role in caring for patients with and at risk of chronic conditions. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study is to explore nurses' use of mHealth apps to support adults with or at risk of chronic conditions and understand the factors that influence technology adoption. METHODS: A web-based cross-sectional survey was conducted between September 2022 and January 2023. The survey was shared via social media and professional nursing organizations to Australian nurses caring for adults with or at risk of chronic conditions. RESULTS: A total of 158 responses were included in the analysis. More than two-thirds (n=108, 68.4%) of respondents reported that they personally used at least 1 mHealth app. Over half (n=83, 52.5% to n=108, 68.4%) reported they use mHealth apps at least a few times a month for clinical purposes. Logistic regression demonstrated that performance expectancy (P=.04), facilitating condition (P=.05), and personal use of mHealth apps (P=.05) were significantly associated with mHealth app recommendation. In contrast, effort expectancy (P=.09) and social influence (P=.46) did not have a significant influence on whether respondents recommended mHealth apps to patients. The inability to identify the quality of mHealth apps and the lack of access to mobile devices or internet were the most common barriers to mHealth app recommendation. CONCLUSIONS: While nurses use mHealth apps personally, there is potential to increase their clinical application. Given the challenges reported in appraising and assessing mHealth apps, app regulation and upskilling nurses will help to integrate mHealth apps into usual patient care.

Prevalence of Preferences for End-of-Life Place of Care and Death Among Patients With Cancer in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

PURPOSE: There is limited information on preferences for place of care and death among patients with cancer in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The aim was to report the prevalence and determinants of preferences for end-of-life place of care and death among patients with cancer in LMICs and identify concordance between the preferred and actual place of death. METHODS: Systematic review and meta-analysis guided by Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses was conducted. Four electronic databases were searched to identify studies of any design that reported on the preferred and actual place of care and death of patients with cancer in LMICs. A random-effects meta-analysis estimated pooled prevalences, with 95% CI, with subgroup analyses for region and risk of bias. RESULTS: Thirteen studies were included. Of 3,837 patients with cancer, 62% (95% CI, 49 to 75) preferred to die at home; however, the prevalence of actual home death was 37% (95% CI, 13 to 60). Subgroup analyses found that preferences for home as place of death varied from 55% (95% CI, 41 to 69) for Asia to 64% (95% CI, 57 to 71) for South America and 72% (95% CI, 48 to 97) for Africa. The concordance between the preferred and actual place of death was 48% (95% CI, 41 to 55) for South Africa and 92% (95% CI, 88 to 95) for Malaysia. Factors associated with an increased likelihood of preferred home death included performance status and patients with breast cancer. CONCLUSION: There is very little literature from LMICs on the preferences for end-of-life place of care and death among patients with cancer. Rigorous research is needed to help understand how preferences of patients with cancer change during their journey through cancer.

A practical guide to living evidence: Reducing the knowledge-to-practice gap.

Living evidence involves continuous evidence surveillance to incorporate new relevant evidence into systematic reviews and clinical practice guideline recommendations as soon as it becomes available. Thus, living evidence may improve the timeliness of recommendation updates and reduce the knowledge-to-practice gap. When considering a living evidence model, several processes and practical aspects need to be explored. Some of these include identifying the need for a living evidence model, funding, governance structure, time, team skills and capabilities, frequency of updates, approval and endorsement and publication and dissemination.

The prototype of a frailty learning health system: The HARMONY Model.

Introduction: Rapid translation of research findings into clinical practice through innovation is critical to improve health systems and patient outcomes. Access to efficient systems of learning underpinned with real-time data are the future of healthcare. This type of health system will decrease unwarranted clinical variation, accelerate rapid evidence translation, and improve overall healthcare quality. Methods: This paper aims to describe The HARMONY model (acHieving dAta-dRiven quality iMprovement to enhance frailty Outcomes using a learNing health sYstem), a new frailty learning health system model of implementation science and practice improvement. The HARMONY model provides a prototype for clinical quality registry infrastructure and partnership within health care. Results: The HARMONY model was applied to the Western Sydney Clinical Frailty Registry as the prototype exemplar. The model networks longitudinal frailty data into an accessible and useable format for learning. Creating local capability that networks current data infrastructures to translate and improve quality of care in real-time. Conclusion: This prototype provides a model of registry data feedback and quality improvement processes in an inpatient aged care and rehabilitation hospital setting to help reduce clinical variation, enhance research translation capacity, and improve care quality.

Direct oral anticoagulant use in hospitalized patients with atrial fibrillation across body mass index categories: design and rationale for a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) and obesity are common conditions globally; yet, there remains suboptimal pharmacological management contributing to high rates of hospitalization in patients with AF. The altered pathophysiology of both obese and underweight individuals may influence the pharmacology of medications, including those used to manage AF. This, in turn, increases the risk of adverse events and impacts patient risk for stroke and rehospitalization. Despite the well-established complications of obesity, research investigating the relationship between obesity and AF is scant. Objectives: The primary aim of this study is to describe cardiovascular-related hospitalization in AF patients according to BMI categories. A secondary aim is to describe anticoagulant and antiarrhythmic prescribing practice patterns in patients with AF, according to the BMI category. Design: A retrospective, exploratory descriptive observational cohort study, using routinely collected electronic medical record data from five public hospitals within a single health district, with a population dominantly that is culturally and linguistically diverse, and has a low socioeconomic status. Methods and analysis: Data extraction will include a 24-month period (January 2017 to December 2018) with a 12-month follow-up. All adult (⩾18 years) patients at discharge diagnosed with AF, prescribed any oral anticoagulant and/or oral rate/rhythm control agent, will be eligible for inclusion. Ethics and dissemination: Ethics approval from the health district and the University of Wollongong has been granted. Findings will seek to demonstrate associations between management strategies and patient outcomes, as well as describe patterns of acute care management from prescribers. These data will be used to inform and generate hypotheses for large-scale studies examining the impact of body weight on anticoagulation prescribing at national and global scales.

Background: Across the world, two of the most common conditions include obesity and a heart disease that causes irregular heartbeat which is known as Atrial Fibrillation (AF). As a result of the excessive over or underweight of an individual with AF, can affect how some of the medications used manage AF work, in turn potentially affecting their health. Purpose: The main purpose of this study is to describe how often people with AF end up in the hospital because of heart-related problems based on their weight category. We also want to describe how doctors prescribe blood thinners and medicines that control the heart rhythm, in patients with AF based on their body weight. Design and method: To do this we will examine old electronic medical records over a two-year period, from January 2017 to December 2018 from five public hospitals, and we will see what happens after one year if they were hospitalised. These hospitals serve a diverse population with a mix of languages and cultures and are low-income earning households. We will only examine the electronic medical records of adults (18 years and over) who were diagnosed with AF and were prescribed blood thinners and/or heart rate or rhythm-controlling medications at the time of leaving the hospital. All adult (⩾18 years) patients at discharge diagnosed with AF, prescribed any oral anticoagulant and/or oral rate/rhythm control agent, will be eligible for inclusion. We have already gotten approval from the hospital and the University of Wollongong to conduct this study ethically. We anticipate that the results from this study will help us understand how different treatments and body weights are connected, and this knowledge can be used to plan bigger studies on a national and global scale to improve how we care for people with irregular heartbeats.

Designing a study that examines the use of blood thinners in hospitalised patients with irregular heartbeat at different body weights.

Development and psychometric evaluation of an expanded urinary catheter self-management scale: A cross-sectional study.

AIM: To develop and test the psychometric properties of an expanded catheter self-management scale for patients with in-dwelling urinary catheters. DESIGN: A cross-sectional validation study. Despite the utility of the original 13-item catheter self-management scale, this instrument did not include bowel management, general hygiene and drainage bag care, which are fundamental skills in urinary catheter self-management to prevent common problems resulting in unnecessary hospital presentations. The expanded catheter self-management scale was developed with 10 additional items to comprehensively assess all five essential aspects of urinary catheter self-management. METHODS: A total of 101 adult community-dwelling patients living with indwelling urinary catheters were recruited from Western Sydney, Australia. Using exploratory factor analysis with Varimax rotation, the number of factors to be extracted from the expanded 23-item expanded catheter self-management scale was determined using a scree plot. The reliability of the overall scale and subscales was measured using Cronbach's alpha. Convergent validity was assessed using Spearman's correlations between clinical characteristics, overall scale and subscales. RESULTS: The 23-item expanded catheter self-management scale yielded a 5-factor solution, labelled as: (i) self-monitoring of catheter function, (ii) proactive, help-seeking behaviour function, (iii) bowel self-care function, (iv) hygiene-related catheter site function and (v) drainage bag care function. Cronbach's alpha of the expanded catheter self-management scale indicating all 23 items contributed to the overall alpha value. Convergent validity results showed a negative correlation between the overall expanded catheter self-management scale and catheter-related problems. CONCLUSION: The 5-factor structure provided a comprehensive assessment of key aspects of urinary catheter self-management essential to reduce the likelihood of catheter-related hospital presentations. IMPLICATIONS: The expanded catheter self-management scale can be used to assess and monitor effective patient-centred interventions for optimal self-management to prevent catheter-related problems and improve the quality of life of patients. IMPACT: Many patients start their journey of living with a urinary catheter unexpectedly and are not supported with quality information to care for their catheter. The findings of this study show the correlation between catheter self-management skills and catheter-related problems. The expanded catheter self-management scale (E-CSM) assists with analysing the self-management skills of patients living with a catheter and developing tailored interventions to prevent problems and improve their quality of life. In addition, this screening tool can be included in policies, guidelines, and care plans as a standard for improving catheter management and developing educational resources for patients. REPORTING METHOD: STROBE checklist was used to report all aspects of this study comprehensively and accurately. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: Patients living with indwelling urinary catheter and their carers have participated in surveys, interviews and co-designing interventions. This paper reports the psychometric analysis of the expanded catheter self-management scale (E-CSM) used in the patient survey as part of the main study 'Improving Quality of Life of Patients Living with Indwelling Urinary Catheters: IQ-IDC Study' (Alex et al. in Collegian, 29:405-413, 2021). We greatly value our consumers' contributions and continue to communicate the progress of the study to them. Their contributions will be acknowledged in all publications and presentations. In addition, all participants will be provided the option of receiving the interventions and publications generated from this study.

The role of illness perceptions in delayed care-seeking in heart failure: A mixed-methods study.

BACKGROUND: Unclear illness perceptions are common in heart failure. The self-regulation model of illness behaviour highlights factors that may impact how people with chronic illness choose to cope with or manage their condition and has been used to study pre-hospital delay for stroke and acute myocardial infarction. The principles of self-regulation can be applied in heart failure to help illuminate the link between unclear illness perceptions and sub-optimal symptom self-management. OBJECTIVE: Informed by the self-regulation model of illness behaviour, this study examines the role of illness perceptions in coping responses that lead to delayed care-seeking for heart failure symptoms. DESIGN: Mixed-methods phenomenological study. SETTING(S): Quaternary referral hospital - centre of excellence for cardiovascular care and heart transplantation. PARTICIPANTS: Seventy-two symptomatic patients with heart failure participated in a survey assessing illness perceptions. A subset of fifteen individuals was invited to participate in semi-structured interviews. METHODS: Illness perceptions were assessed using the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted to elicit previous care-seeking experiences and decision-making that led to a passive, or active coping response to worsening symptoms. Descriptive statistics were used to report questionnaire findings, and open-ended responses were grouped into descriptive categories. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was undertaken on interview transcripts. RESULTS: Participants perceived little personal control over their condition and mostly attributed heart failure to lifestyle factors such as diet and lack of activity. Cognitive dissonance between perceived self-identity and heart failure-identity led to a highly emotional response which drove coping towards avoidance strategies and denial. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates the use of the principles of self-regulation in heart failure and offers a framework to understand how patient representations and emotional responses can inform behaviour in illness. Findings highlight the value of empowering patients to take control of their health and the need to help align values (e.g. independence) with behaviours (e.g. actively addressing problems) to facilitate optimal symptom self-management.

Study protocol for Care cOORDInatioN And sympTom managEment (COORDINATE) programme: a feasibility study.

INTRODUCTION: Sustainable approaches to support care coordination and symptom management needs of critically ill adults living with multimorbidity are needed to combat the challenges and complexity that multimorbidity presents. The study aims to test the feasibility of the Care cOORDInatioN And sympTom managEment (COORDINATE) intervention to improve health outcomes of adults living with multimorbidity. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: A multicomponent nurse-driven intervention was developed using experience-based co-design and human-centred design. Inclusion criteria include (1) age 55 years and older, (2) admitted to an intermediate care unit, (3) presence of two or more chronic health conditions and (4) signed informed consent. Data collection will occur at baseline (time of recruitment predischarge) and 6 weeks and 3 months following hospital discharge. Outcome of interest from this feasibility study is to evaluate the financial, technical and logistic feasibility of a full-scale study including data collection and protocol adherence. Additionally, Cohen's d effect sizes for the change in outcomes over time will be computed to establish power calculations required for a full-scale study. The protocol was prepared in accordance with Standard Protocol Items: Recommendations for Interventional Trials (SPIRIT) checklist. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study has been reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board of Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. Given the success of this feasibility study, the potential for the COORDINATE intervention to decrease the symptom burden and improve participant quality of life among critically ill people with multimorbidity will be tested in a full-scale study, and findings will be actively disseminated. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT05985044.

User profile of people contacting a stroke helpline (StrokeLine) in Australia: a retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: StrokeLine is a specialised telephone helpline led by health professionals in Australia. AIMS: (i) To describe the profile of StrokeLine callers; (ii) to understand the reasons people engage with the service and (iii) how StrokeLine responded to the caller's needs. METHODS: Routine call data were obtained from the StrokeLine between November 2019 and November 2020. Data were extracted and descriptive analyses performed. De-identified free-text data were obtained separately for November 2019 and June 2020 and analysed using qualitative content analysis. RESULTS: Of the 1429 calls most were from carers, family and friends (38%) or the stroke survivor themselves (34%). Most calls were made by women (64%) and the average age of the stroke survivor was ≥65 years (33%) with the time since the stroke occurred <1 year. The main reason for calling was to manage stroke-related impairments (40%). Providing information, support and advice was the most common action provided by StrokeLine staff (25%). Content analysis of 225 calls revealed most stroke survivors called for emotional support, while carers sought more practical guidance. StrokeLine provided information for referral to relevant services and guidance on what to do next. CONCLUSIONS: Most calls were received from family and carers, as well as stroke survivors. They contacted StrokeLine for information and advice, practical solutions, emotional support, and referral advice to other services.

The engagement of older people living with chronic lung disease in a peer support community-based exercise programme: A qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Chronic lung disease is a common and complex condition. Pulmonary rehabilitation programmes-either hospital-based or in the community are recommended in evidence-based clinical practice guidelines. AIM: To explore the experience of older people with chronic lung disease involved in a peer support community-based exercise maintenance programme. DESIGN AND METHOD: Participants were a part of the Lungs in Action programme run in a local community leisure centre through Lung Foundation Australia. All the programme participants (n = 25) were invited by an independent person through email and/or letter to participate in the study and provided with a participant information and consent form. Participants who returned consent forms were scheduled for group interviews. Participants were recruited over a 2-week period between 30 August and 13 September 2022. We conducted qualitative group interviews using a semi-structured interview guide to explore the experiences of older people living with chronic lung disease. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. RESULTS: A total of 14 participants (eight female and six male) aged between 64 and 86 years were interviewed. Three themes emerged from the data: motivation, authentic social engagement, and sustainable achievement. Motivation stemmed from the participants' perceived health benefits, and from the trainers' motivation and encouragement. Participants discussed how sharing experiences created an environment of trust and understanding, fun and friendship. Social engagement and creating authentic relationships were key aspects raised by participants. Feeling more confident in themselves and being able to accomplish physical tasks, making activities of daily living more manageable featured highly in participants' responses. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Community-based peer support exercise groups enable environments for people with chronic lung disease to maintain physical fitness, and to connect with others to form friendships and have fun.

The ACCELERATE Plus (assessment and communication excellence for safe patient outcomes) Trial Protocol: a stepped-wedge cluster randomised trial, cost-benefit analysis, and process evaluation.

BACKGROUND: Nurses play an essential role in patient safety. Inadequate nursing physical assessment and communication in handover practices are associated with increased patient deterioration, falls and pressure injuries. Despite internationally implemented rapid response systems, falls and pressure injury reduction strategies, and recommendations to conduct clinical handovers at patients' bedside, adverse events persist. This trial aims to evaluate the effectiveness, implementation, and cost-benefit of an externally facilitated, nurse-led intervention delivered at the ward level for core physical assessment, structured patient-centred bedside handover and improved multidisciplinary communication. We hypothesise the trial will reduce medical emergency team calls, unplanned intensive care unit admissions, falls and pressure injuries. METHODS: A stepped-wedge cluster randomised trial will be conducted over 52 weeks. The intervention consists of a nursing core physical assessment, structured patient-centred bedside handover and improved multidisciplinary communication and will be implemented in 24 wards across eight hospitals. The intervention will use theoretically informed implementation strategies for changing clinician behaviour, consisting of: nursing executive site engagement; a train-the-trainer model for cascading facilitation; embedded site leads; nursing unit manager leadership training; nursing and medical ward-level clinical champions; ward nurses' education workshops; intervention tailoring; and reminders. The primary outcome will be a composite measure of medical emergency team calls (rapid response calls and 'Code Blue' calls), unplanned intensive care unit admissions, in-hospital falls and hospital-acquired pressure injuries; these measures individually will also form secondary outcomes. Other secondary outcomes are: i) patient-reported experience measures of receiving safe and patient-centred care, ii) nurses' perceptions of barriers to physical assessment, readiness to change, and staff engagement, and iii) nurses' and medical officers' perceptions of safety culture and interprofessional collaboration. Primary outcome data will be collected for the trial duration, and secondary outcome surveys will be collected prior to each step and at trial conclusion. A cost-benefit analysis and post-trial process evaluation will also be undertaken. DISCUSSION: If effective, this intervention has the potential to improve nursing care, reduce patient harm and improve patient outcomes. The evidence-based implementation strategy has been designed to be embedded within existing hospital workforces; if cost-effective, it will be readily translatable to other hospitals nationally. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ID: ACTRN12622000155796. Date registered: 31/01/2022.

Hospital-service use in the last year of life by patients aged ⩾60 years who died of heart failure or cardiomyopathy: A retrospective linked data study.

BACKGROUND: Understanding patterns of health care use in the last year of life is critical in health services planning. AIM: To describe hospital-based service and palliative care use in hospital in the year preceding death for patients who died of heart failure or cardiomyopathy in Queensland from 2008 to 2018 and had at least one hospitalisation in the year preceding death. DESIGN: A retrospective data linkage study was conducted using administrative health data relating to hospitalisations, emergency department visits and deaths. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Participants included were those aged ⩾60 years, had a hospitalisation in their last year of life and died of heart failure or cardiomyopathy in Queensland, Australia. RESULTS: Of the 4697 participants, there were 25,583 hospital admissions. Three quarters (n = 3420, 73%) of participants were aged ⩾80 years and over half died in hospital (n = 2886, 61%). The median number of hospital admissions in the last year of life was 3 (interquartile range [IQR] 2-5). The care type was recorded as 'acute' for 89% (n = 22,729) of hospital admissions, and few (n = 853, 3%) hospital admissions had a care type recorded as 'palliative.' Of the 4697 participants, 3458 had emergency department visit(s), presenting 10,330 times collectively. CONCLUSION: In this study, patients who died of heart failure or cardiomyopathy were predominantly aged ⩾80 years and over half died in hospital. These patients experienced repeat acute hospitalisations in the year preceding death. Improving timely access to palliative care services in the outpatient or community setting is needed for patients with heart failure.

Frailty and oral anticoagulant prescription in adults with atrial fibrillation: A systematic review.

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of frailty in the context of atrial fibrillation (AF); to identify the most commonly used frailty instruments in AF; and to describe the effect of frailty on non-vitamin K oral anticoagulant (NOAC) prescription for stroke prevention in adults with AF. Methods: A systematic search of databases, including Medline, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Scopus, and CINAHL, was conducted using search terms including "atrial fibrillation," "frailty," and "anticoagulation." A narrative synthesis was undertaken. Results: A total of 92 articles were screened, and 12 articles were included. The mean age of the participants (n = 212,111) was 82 years (range = 77-85 years) with 56% of participants identified as frail and 44% identified non-frail. A total of five different frailty instruments were identified: the Frailty Phenotype (FP; n = 5, 42%), the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS; n = 4, 33%), Cumulative Deficit Model of Frailty (CDM; n = 1, 8%), Edmonton Frail Scale (n = 1, 8%) and the Resident Assessment Instrument - Minimum Data Set (RAI-MDS 2.0; n = 1, 8%). Frailty was identified as an important barrier to anticoagulant therapy with 52% of the frail population anticoagulated vs 67% non-frail. Conclusion: Frailty is an important consideration in anticoagulation decision making for stroke prevention in patients with AF. There is scope to improve frailty screening and treatment. Frailty status is an important risk marker and should be considered when evaluating stroke risk alongside congestive heart failure, hypertension, age ≥75 years, diabetes mellitus, prior stroke, transient ischemic attack, or thromboembolism, vascular disease, age 65-74 years, sex category (CHA2DS2-VASc) and Hypertension, Abnormal renal/liver function, Stroke, Bleeding, Labile, Elderly, and Drugs (HAS-BLED) scores.