Primary and secondary care service use and costs associated with frailty in an ageing population: longitudinal analysis of an English primary care cohort of adults aged 50 and over, 2006-2017.

BACKGROUND: Frailty becomes more prevalent and healthcare needs increase with age. Information on the impact of frailty on population level use of health services and associated costs is needed to plan for ageing populations. AIM: To describe primary and secondary care service use and associated costs by electronic Frailty Index (eFI) category. DESIGN AND SETTING: Retrospective cohort using electronic health records. Participants aged ≥50 registered in primary care practices contributing to the Oxford Royal College of General Practitioners Research and Surveillance Centre, 2006-2017. METHODS: Primary and secondary care use (totals and means) were stratified by eFI category and age group. Standardised 2017 costs were used to calculate primary, secondary and overall costs. Generalised linear models explored associations between frailty, sociodemographic characteristics. Adjusted mean costs and cost ratios were produced. RESULTS: Individual mean annual use of primary and secondary care services increased with increasing frailty severity. Overall cohort care costs for were highest in mild frailty in all 12 years, followed by moderate and severe, although the proportion of the population with severe frailty can be expected to increase over time. After adjusting for sociodemographic factors, compared to the fit category, individual annual costs doubled in mild frailty, tripled in moderate and quadrupled in severe. CONCLUSIONS: Increasing levels of frailty are associated with an additional burden of individual service use. However, individuals with mild and moderate frailty contribute to higher overall costs. Earlier intervention may have the most potential to reduce service use and costs at population level.

The dynamics of frailty development and progression in older adults in primary care in England (2006-2017): a retrospective cohort profile.

BACKGROUND: Frailty is a common condition in older adults and has a major impact on patient outcomes and service use. Information on the prevalence in middle-aged adults and the patterns of progression of frailty at an individual and population level is scarce. To address this, a cohort was defined from a large primary care database in England to describe the epidemiology of frailty and understand the dynamics of frailty within individuals and across the population. This article describes the structure of the dataset, cohort characteristics and planned analyses. METHODS: Retrospective cohort study using electronic health records. Participants were aged ≥50 years registered in practices contributing to the Oxford Royal College of General Practitioners Research and Surveillance Centre between 2006 to 2017. Data include GP practice details, patient sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, twice-yearly electronic Frailty Index (eFI), deaths, medication use and primary and secondary care health service use. Participants in each cohort year by age group, GP and patient characteristics at cohort entry are described. RESULTS: The cohort includes 2,177,656 patients, contributing 15,552,946 person-years, registered at 419 primary care practices in England. The mean age was 61 years, 52.1% of the cohort was female, and 77.6% lived in urban environments. Frailty increased with age, affecting 10% of adults aged 50-64 and 43.7% of adults aged ≥65. The prevalence of long-term conditions and specific frailty deficits increased with age, as did the eFI and the severity of frailty categories. CONCLUSION: A comprehensive understanding of frailty dynamics will inform predictions of current and future care needs to facilitate timely planning of appropriate interventions, service configurations and workforce requirements. Analysis of this large, nationally representative cohort including participants aged ≥50 will capture earlier transitions to frailty and enable a detailed understanding of progression and impact. These results will inform novel simulation models which predict future health and service needs of older people living with frailty. STUDY REGISTRATION: Registered on www.clinicaltrials.gov October 25th 2019, NCT04139278 .

Supporting self-management by Community Matrons through a group intervention; an action research study.

The aim of this study was to examine the feasibility and impact of a group intervention by Community Matrons to support those living with multiple long-terms conditions. Little evidence exists as to how the role of the Community Matron (CM) should be delivered to effectively enhance disease self-management and levels of self-efficacy for the service users. This qualitative participatory action research study explored the use of group work as a method of intervention by CMs. A purposive sample of 29 participants was recruited. Each patient group had 8-10 participants, led by a CM working in both the researcher and practitioner role, operating over 12-month period. Data were collected by participant observation, researcher reflexive account and interviews. Grounded theory method was used to systematically analyse the data. Three main data categories emerged: (i) comparison by patients that leads to re-motivation of the self; (ii) learning, leading to enhanced self-management techniques, through storytelling and understanding of each other's experiences; and (iii) ownership that resulted in the self-awareness, cognisance and insight into the role of the support group they were based in and how it benefited them. The core category of 'Taking back the self - understanding the whole,' conveyed the impact that this care delivery method had upon readjusting the balance of power between health professional and service users and its consequence in refreshing and improving their self-management and the patients' self-efficacy. It was concluded that CM intervention using a model of group learning can lead to more effective and efficient support, through improving self-efficacy and patients' related self-management ability.

PA24†A grounded theory analysis to explore the impact of group work as a method of service delivery by community matrons to support those living with multiple long-term conditions.

BACKGROUND: The role of the Community Matron was introduced in 2005 (DoH 2005a) to case-manage those patients deemed as very high intensity service users to prevent and reduce unscheduled admission to secondary care. Related studies on the effectiveness of managed care indicated the need to manage the demand of high service users who had multiple long-term conditions (LTCs). Little evidence exists as to how the role should be delivered to enhance disease self-management and levels of self-efficacy for the service users. AIM: Reviewing the role of Community Matrons in regard to their work with patients with multiple long-term conditions. METHODS: This qualitative participatory action research study explored the use of group work as a method of Community Matron intervention. Drawing on the theoretical underpinnings of Bandura's Social Learning Theory (1997), a social learning framework approach was adopt ed. Twenty nine participants with multiple long-term conditions were recruited. Within each intervention group there were 8-10 participants, led by a Community Matron working in both the researcher and practitioner role. RESULTS: Three main categories emerged that highlighted the process by which community matrons support patient groups; 1) comparison leading to re-motivation of the self through comparing others, 2) learning leading to enhanced self-management techniques through storytelling and understanding of each other's experiences and 3) having ownership leading to the ownership of the self and of the groups they existed in. The emergent grounded theory revealed a Basic Social Process that conveyed the operation of three interrelated factors that helped to improve patients' self-efficacy and in turn their ability to engage effectively in their disease self-management. Through an action research approach the group work was led in a facilitative way, enabling the participants to work collaboratively with the researcher practitioner to choose and shape the care delivery. The core category of 'taking back the self-understanding the whole revealed the impact that this care delivery method had upon re-adjusting the balance of power between health professional and service users and its relationship to refreshing and improving disease self-management and self-efficacy. CONCLUSION: Community matron intervention using a model of group learning embedded in a social learning framework for those living with multiple long-term conditions can lead to more effective support, through improving self-efficacy and related self-management ability.