Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment for younger outpatients with severe mental illness: protocol for a feasibility study

• Published in: BMJ open Vol. 13; no. 2; p. e069518
• Main Authors: Arnautovska, Urska, Siskind, Dan, Pearson, Ella, Baker, Andrea, Reid, Natasha, Kwan, Winona Wing Ling, Wang, Nancy, Gordon, Emily, Hubbard, Ruth, Warren, Nicola
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England British Medical Journal Publishing Group 21.02.2023; BMJ Publishing Group LTD; BMJ Publishing Group
• Series: Protocol
• Subjects: Adult psychiatry; Aged; Aging; Bipolar disorder; Clinical trials; Consent; Feasibility Studies; Frailty; Geriatric Assessment - methods; GERIATRIC MEDICINE; Geriatrics; Health services; Humans; Intervention; Lifestyles; Mental depression; Mental Disorders; MENTAL HEALTH; Metabolism; Mortality; Nutrition research; Older people; Outpatient care facilities; Outpatients; Patient-Centred Medicine; Patients; Quality in health care; Quality of Life; Schizophrenia; Schizophrenia & psychotic disorders; Clinical trials; Schizophrenia & psychotic disorders; MENTAL HEALTH; Adult psychiatry; Quality in health care; GERIATRIC MEDICINE
• ISSN: 2044-6055; 2044-6055
• DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-069518

IntroductionIndividuals with severe mental illness are at risk of becoming prematurely frail. There is a critical unmet need for an intervention that reduces the risk of frailty and minimises the associated negative outcomes in this population. This study aims to provide novel evidence on the feasibility, acceptability and preliminary effectiveness of Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) to improve health outcomes among people with co-occurring frailty and severe mental illness.Methods and analysisTwenty-five participants with frailty and severe mental illness, aged 18–64 years, will be recruited from Metro South Addiction and Mental Health Service outpatient clinics and provided with the CGA. Primary outcome measures will include the feasibility and acceptability of the CGA embedded in routine healthcare. Other variables of interest will include frailty status, quality of life, polypharmacy, and a range of mental and physical health factors.Ethics and disseminationAll procedures involving human subjects/patients were approved by Metro South Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC/2022/QMS/82272). Study findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations.