Contextual Analysis and Implementation Strategies for an Age‐Friendly Emergency Department Uptake: The FRED Study Protocol.

Background: Older adults frequently present to the Emergency Department (ED). In response, a Swiss university hospital introduced age‐friendly interventions and achieved Geriatric Emergency Department Accreditation (GEDA) by the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP). However, the impact of...

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Publicado en:Journal of the American Geriatrics Society Vol. 74; no. 2; pp. 365 - 377
Autores principales: Cantarero Fernandez, Alisa, Nickel, Christian H., Dreher‐Hummel, Thomas, Grossmann, Florian, Ünlü, Luca, Carpenter, Christopher R., Heeren, Pieter, Ruiter, Robert A. C., Simon, Michael, Zúñiga, Franziska
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Wiley-Blackwell Feb2026
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Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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        atl: Contextual Analysis and Implementation Strategies for an Age‐Friendly Emergency Department Uptake: The FRED Study Protocol.
      aug:
        au:
          Cantarero Fernandez, Alisa
          Nickel, Christian H.
          Dreher‐Hummel, Thomas
          Grossmann, Florian
          Ünlü, Luca
          Carpenter, Christopher R.
          Heeren, Pieter
          Ruiter, Robert A. C.
          Simon, Michael
          Zúñiga, Franziska
        affil:
          Nursing Science, Department Public Health, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
          Department of Emergency Medicine, University Hospital of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
          Faculty of Medicine, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
          Department of Acute Medicine, University Hospital of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
          Department of Emergency Medicine, Mayo Medical Center, Rochester Minnesota,, USA
          Faculty of Medicine and Life Sciences, Hasselt University, Hasselt, Belgium
          Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
          Department of Work and Social Psychology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands
      su:
        Switzerland
        Elder care
        Human services programs
        Interviewing
        Emergency medicine
        Patient-centered care
        Old age
        Research funding
        Frail elderly
        Hospital emergency services
        Judgment sampling
        Descriptive statistics
        Thematic analysis
        Research methodology
        Quality assurance
      sug:
        subj:
          Elder care
          Human services programs
          Interviewing
          Emergency medicine
          Patient-centered care
          Old age
          Switzerland
          Continuing Care Retirement Communities
          Research funding
          Frail elderly
          Hospital emergency services
          Judgment sampling
          Descriptive statistics
          Thematic analysis
          Research methodology
          Quality assurance
      keyword:
        emergency department
        frailty
        geriatric emergency medicine
        implementation science
        older adults
        emergency department
        frailty
        geriatric emergency medicine
        implementation science
        older adults
      ab: Background: Older adults frequently present to the Emergency Department (ED). In response, a Swiss university hospital introduced age‐friendly interventions and achieved Geriatric Emergency Department Accreditation (GEDA) by the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP). However, the impact of previously introduced interventions and the reasons behind emergency clinicians' varying uptake or lack of continued use remain unclear. To further improve patient outcomes, conducting a contextual analysis to identify implementation barriers and facilitators is crucial, followed by the development of tailored implementation strategies supporting the sustainable uptake of all age‐friendly program elements. The project's overall aim is to systematically promote the uptake and sustainable re‐implementation of the existing age‐friendly ED program. The first study phase outlined in this protocol ("Phase A") focuses on 2 key objectives: (1) to assess current age‐friendly interventions in the ED and identify barriers and facilitators affecting their reach, adoption, implementation, and maintenance; (2) to develop tailored implementation strategies for re‐implementing program elements. Methods: This project uses a modified implementation mapping in 5 Steps across 2 Phases. Phase A includes Steps 1–4: (1) conducting a contextual analysis using a mixed‐methods design combining observations, interviews, patient chart reviews, E‐survey and a Gemba walk; (2) identifying expected intervention and implementation outcomes, performance objectives; (3) adapting, extending, or developing tailored implementation strategies based on the Expert Recommendations for Implementing Change taxonomy; and (4) co‐designing an implementation protocol to guide re‐implementation. The follow‐up Phase B will involve the re‐implementation of the intervention elements and co‐designing the evaluation protocol (Step 5) for the implementation process. Conclusion: Age‐friendly EDs are essential for person‐centered emergency care, enhancing safety and quality of care for older adults. This study will provide insights into adaptable, evidence‐informed implementation strategies that support behavioral change among emergency clinicians to increase patient reach and sustainability of age‐friendly interventions for complex ED settings. Summary: Key points ○Widespread implementation of age‐friendly ED programs remains limited due to an incomplete understanding of context‐specific barriers and facilitators.○There is a need for tailored implementation strategies that support sustainable change in a fast‐moving ED context.○Fostering the sustainment of an age‐friendly ED will go hand in hand with enhancing geriatric expertise by empowering the workforce to provide person‐centered care and improve health outcomes.Why does this paper matter? ○The FRED project is a systematic re‐implementation of an age‐friendly emergency department program that leverages implementation science.○The primary objective of this effort is to further improve and sustain the quality of care for older patients by increasing emergency clinician adoption and patient reach of age‐friendly interventions, while enhancing person‐centeredness.○The proposed multi‐framework approach and results of the FRED project can provide sustainable, evidence‐based solutions that are adaptable to different emergency settings.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
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