2015 Knowledge Synthesis Grants — Frailty Measures
In February of 2015, CFN offered funding through a competition focused on measuring the degree of frailty in the elderly.
Measurement of frailty in the elderly can be helpful in identifying the most appropriate type of care, and care setting, provided to elderly patients. It has also been suggested that early identification of frailty can inform patients, and both formal and informal caregivers, on therapeutic options and treatment decisions, including those for acute care, restorative care, advance care planning and appropriate end-of-life care.
Projects funded under this competition will inform future research priorities for the Network and guide in the future development of its knowledge translation activities, through a comprehensive review and analysis of frailty measures, the utility of operationalizing a frailty measure in various health care settings, and possible preventive and therapeutic treatment options for frailty. A minimum of 25% of matching funding was required. Timeline: 6 months maximum from time of approval. Budget: $25,000 to $50,000 maximum per proposal
Projects Funded
Five projects were funded, with first-time funding for eight Principal Investigators and one host institution. For more details on any of the projects, please click on the project names below:
Post-emergency department evidence-based interventions for the prevention of frailty and functional decline in injured community-dwellers (FRA 2015-A-06)
Principal Investigators:
Marcel Émond, MD, MSc — Université Laval
Marie-Josée Sirois, OT, PhD — Université Laval/CHU de Québec
Frailty measure for persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities using aging care (FRA 2015-A-03)
Principal Investigator:
Hélène Ouellette-Kuntz, PhD — Queen’s University
Antidepressant guidelines for long-term care residents with advanced frailty (FRA 2015-A-04)
Principal Investigators:
Laurie Mallery, MD — Dalhousie University
Constance LeBlanc, DSS, MD, CCFP, FCFP, MAEd — Dalhousie University
Interventions to prevent and treat frailty in community-dwelling older adults: a scoping review of the literature and international policies (FRA 2015-A-07)
Principal Investigators:
Martine Puts, RN, PhD — University of Toronto
Katherine McGilton, RN, PhD — University of Toronto
A scoping review of evidence for measuring frailty in pre-hospital and hospital settings (FRA 2015-A-08)
Principal Investigator:
Olga Theou, PhD — Nova Scotia Health Authority
About the competition
A Guidance Document and Application Instructions were provided for potential applicants. A Pre-application Intent to Apply was required by March 23, 2015. Those projects that submitted this Intent were eligible to submit full Applications by April 27, 2015.