JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Conducting a health needs assessment for older adults is important, particularly for early detection and management of frailty. Such assessments can help to improve health outcomes, maintain overall well-being, and support older adults in retaining their independence as they age at home.

Objective:

In this study, a systematic approach to health needs assessment is adopted in order to reflect real-world practices in municipal health care and capture the nuances of frailty. The aim is to assess changes in frailty levels in home-living older adults over a five-month period and to examine the observable functional changes from a pre-study baseline (t1) to a post-study period (t2). Additionally, the study explores the feasibility of conducting the health needs assessment from the perspective of home-living older adults and their informal caregivers.

Methods:

Interprofessional teams of registered nurses, physiotherapists, and occupational therapists will conduct two health needs assessments covering physical, cognitive, psychological, social, and behavioral domains. The study includes 40 home-living older adults aged 75 or over who have applied for municipal health and care services in Norway. A quantitative approach will be applied to assess changes in frailty levels in home-living older adults over a five-month period. In addition, we will examine the observable functional changes from t1 to t2 and how these changes correlate to frailty levels. Following this, a qualitative approach will be employed to examine the perspectives of participants and their informal caregivers regarding the health needs assessment and its feasibility. The final sample size for the qualitative phase will be determined based on the participants’ willingness to be interviewed. The quantitative data consists of descriptive statistics, simple tests, and present plots and correlation coefficients. For the qualitative analysis, we will apply thematic analysis.

Results:

The initial baseline assessments were completed in July 2023, and the second health needs assessments are ongoing. We expect the results to be available for analysis in spring 2024.

Conclusions:

This study has potential benefits for not only older adults and their informal caregivers, but also healthcare professionals. Moreover, it can be used to inform future studies focused on health needs assessments of this specific demographic group. The study also provides meaningful insights for local policymakers, with potential future implications at the national level. Clinical Trial: Clinical.Trials.gov (NCT05837728)