RESUMEN
This article reports the study protocol of a nationwide multicentric study in seven Italian regions aimed at assessing the effectiveness of a digitally supported approach for the early screening of frailty risk factors in community-dwelling older adults. SUNFRAIL+ is a prospective observational cohort study aimed at carrying out a multidimensional assessment of community-dwelling older adults through an IT platform, which allows to connect the items of the SUNFRAIL frailty assessment tool with a cascading multidimensional in-depth assessment of the bio-psycho-social domains of frailty. Seven centers in seven Italian regions will administer the SUNFRAIL questionnaire to 100 older adults. According to the answers provided by older adults, they will be subjected to one or more validated in-depth scale tests in order to perform further diagnostic or dimensional evaluations. The study aims to contribute to the implementation and validation of a multiprofessional and multistakeholder service model for the screening of frailty in community-dwelling older adult population.
Asunto(s)
Fragilidad , Humanos , Anciano , Fragilidad/epidemiología , Anciano Frágil , Vida Independiente , Estudios Prospectivos , Evaluación Geriátrica/métodos , Servicios de Salud , Estudios Observacionales como AsuntoRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Ageing population implies an increasing demand for health care services and resources, unsustainable according to current previsions. The European Commission is tackling this challenge throughout initiatives such as the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (EIP-AHA), where all the efforts are aligned to the common goal of adding two active and healthy years to the life of European Union (EU) citizens. METHOD: We presented the collaborative efforts of Italian Reference Site Collaborative Network 2012-2015. RESULTS: Italian regions joined forces through the "Progetto Mattone Internazionale" of the Ministry of Health developing several national and international collaborations. Activities from all five Italian reference sites are presented with different good practices and scale-up approaches for improving health in ageing population. DISCUSSION: The simultaneous development of these activities allowed the strengthening of the coordination of Italian stakeholders in the European arena fostering collaboration and supporting the streamlining of the Italian regions still outside these projects.