The Care-of-the-Elderly Health Guide

Abstract

Introduction: The Evidence-Based Care of the Elderly Health Guide is a clinical guide with cross-references for care recommendations. This guide is an innovative adaptation of the Rourke Baby Record to support elderly care. In 2003, the guide was published with an endorsement from the Health Care-of-the-Elderly Committee of the College of Family Physicians of Canada. Since then, physicians have used the guide as a checklist and a monitoring tool for care to elderly patients. Objective: We will update the 2003 Care-of-the-Elderly Health Guide with current published evidence-based recommendations. Methods: This was a mixed methods study consisting of (1) the creation of a list of topics and corresponding guidelines or recommendations, (2) two focus group discussions among family physicians (n = 12) to validate the list for relevance to practice, and (3) a modified Delphi technique in a group of ten experts in Care of the Elderly and geriatrics to attain consensus on whether the guidelines/recommendations represent best practice and be included. Results: The initial list contained 43 topics relevant to family practice, citing 49 published guidelines or recommendations. The focus group participants found the list of topics and guidelines potentially useful in clinical practice and emphasized the need for user-friendliness and clinical applicability. In the first online survey of the modified Delphi technique, 93% (63/66) of the references attained consensus that these represented standards of care. The other references (3/66) attained consensus in the second online survey. The final list contained 47 topics, citing 66 references. Conclusion: The Care-of-the-Elderly Health Guide is a quick reference to geriatric care, reviewed for relevance by family physicians and a panel of experts. The Guide is intended to be used in primary care practice.