Co-designing ‘Focus on Frailty’, a digital frailty education course for hospitals: a qualitative study of healthcare professionals’ perspectives

Frailty is associated with negative outcomes and adverse events in hospitals; however, limited formal education on frailty exists in this setting. Healthcare professionals across disciplines have expressed a need and want for frailty education and training. This study aimed to explore healthcare professionals’ knowledge, understanding, and experiences of frailty in hospital settings and frailty-related training, and to engage them in the co-design of the content of a new digital frailty education course. Between August and September 2023, focus groups and interviews were conducted with healthcare professionals (doctors, nurses, and allied health professionals) who had experience working in any hospital setting. Inductive template analysis (codebook thematic analysis) was used to analyse transcripts, resulting in the identification of themes and a summary of proposed module topics and course name. Twenty-three healthcare professionals from five Australian States participated in the study. Six themes were identified: 1) Healthcare professionals’ conceptualisation of frailty; 2) Limited frailty education and understanding; 3) Frailty in the hospital context; 4) Holistic approach to frailty and care; 5) Fragmented versus integrated care; 6) Interplay between person-centred care and frailty. Participants contributed to the refinement of module topics (e.g., delirium, exercise, palliative care, and nutrition) and provided suggestions for module content. There were varying opinions on the course name, but agreement that it needed to be creative and have a clear identity. Engaging healthcare professionals in the co-design of frailty education provided an understanding of their knowledge, understanding, training, and experiences related to frailty in hospitals, as well as their perspectives and ideas for a new multidisciplinary digital education course, 'Focus on Frailty'. Based on study findings, we recommend that digital frailty education should enhance learners’ understanding and awareness of frailty assessment, prevention, and management; consider learners from different healthcare disciplines and teach them about the role of different professions in frailty-focused care; advocate for person-centred, multidisciplinary, and integrated care; portray a holistic approach to frailty; provide specific and practical information that learners can apply in their own workplace; and involve potential end-users and other relevant stakeholders in co-design.