“C5-75”: A primary care program to identify and support older adults living with frailty

“C5-75”: A primary care program to identify and support older adults living with frailty

About the Project:

With the aging population, there is critical need for feasible, efficient ways to identify and address frailty within family practice. This project aims to improve the care of older adults living with frailty through evaluation and refinement of the “C5-75” program, a model of primary care identification and management of frail older adults that is unique in Canada. Developed in 2012, the model incorporates a systematic family practice approach to identifying frailty and better managing associated conditions that may contribute to worsened health outcomes. Through annual screening for frailty using gait speed and handgrip strength, frail older adults are offered multifaceted interventions that identify and address unrecognized medical, nutritional, and psychosocial needs. To date, 1,073 older adults have been assessed through this program in a family practice setting.

In this project, results will be analyzed and user experience evaluated to determine the most effective and valued aspects of the program, guiding program refinement and improving efficiency and applicability across primary care practice settings. The relationship between medical conditions and trajectory of frailty will also be studied. This project is expected to yield new knowledge about the management of frailty in primary care and offer front line healthcare practitioners a systematic pro-active approach in which frailty is identified and potential contributing conditions are addressed. The C5-75 program aims to improve primary healthcare for older adults living with frailty, reduce vulnerability and optimize care, enabling these individuals to maintain health and wellbeing for as long as possible.

Project Team

Principal Investigator:

  • Linda Lee, MD, MCISc(FM), CCFP(COE), FCFP — McMaster University

Co-Investigators:

  • Andrew Costa, BSc, PhD — McMaster University
  • George Heckman, MSc, MD — University of Waterloo
  • Tejal Patel, BScPharm, PharmD — University of Waterloo

HQP:

  • Aaron Jones, BSc — McMaster University
  • Mats Junek, MD — McMaster University

Project contact: Linda Lee — lee.linda.lw@gmail.com

CAT2018-19

Keywords: frailty; older adults; primary care; gait speed; handgrip strength

C5-75 is a trademark of Linda Lee, used under license