Moving Evidence into Practice with Technology

  • Frailty is sometimes overlooked, as screening is not a part of standard medical care.
  • The Fit-Frailty App is a simple electronic tool that helps to identify individuals at risk of frailty and sarcopenia in under 15 minutes.
  • The Fit-Frailty App has been validated in clinical and research settings.
  • There are two versions available 1) In-person assessment (with interactive cognitive and physical performance measures) 2) Fully virtual version (proxies for cognitive and physical performance measures).

Overview: The Fit-Frailty App was developed at the Geras Centre for Aging Research at Hamilton Health Sciences (affiliated with McMaster University) by Dr. Courtney Kennedy, Dr. George Ioannidis, Dr. Alexandra Papaioannou, Dr. Jonathan (Rick) Adachi in partnership with Dr. Kenneth Rockwood and the Geriatric Medicine Research Group at Dalhousie University. It is a comprehensive measure of frailty that incorporates disease-related, physical, cognitive, psychosocial, nutrition, and functional aspects. It was designed to streamline frailty assessment and be easily completed with older adults and caregivers. The full, interactive assessment is completed in-person and includes physical performance measures which can identify individuals at risk of sarcopenia in addition to frailty. A virtual version has also been validated that is entirely self-reported and uses proxies for physical performance measures.​​​

Co-Design Approach: The project team worked with patients, families, and front-line clinicians to learn more about their experiences using this new technology and test it in healthcare settings.​

Based on Dr. Kenneth Rockwood’s Frailty Index approach, which considers frailty as a multi-dimensional state that exists on a continuum of severity.

 

References:

(1) Searle SD, Mitnitski A, Gahbauer EA, Gill TM, Rockwood K. A standard procedure for creating a frailty index. BMC Geriatr. 2008 Sep 30;8:24.

(2) Jones DM, Song X, Rockwood K. Operationalizing a frailty index from a standardized comprehensive geriatric assessment. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2004 Nov;52(11):1929-33.

(3) Kennedy CC, Ioannidis G, Rockwood K, Thabane L, Adachi JD, Kirkland S, Pickard LE, Papaioannou A. A Frailty Index predicts 10-year fracture risk in adults age 25 years and older: results from the Canadian Multicentre Osteoporosis Study (CaMos). Osteoporos Int. 2014 Dec;25(12):2825-32.

 

Overview Video

Download it on the Apple Store Today

Fit Frailty App

Available for download on:

  • iPhone
  • iPad

 

 

App Developed by:
• Courtney Kennedy, OT, PhD
• George Ioannidis, PhD
• Alexandra Papaioannou, BScN, MD, MSc
• Jonathan Adachi, MD
• Kenneth Rockwood, MD

Co-design Collaborators:
(in alphabetical order)
Pauline Fisher, MN
Alicia Hanman, BSc
Patricia Hewston, OT, PhD
Justin Lee, MD, PhD
Sharon Marr, MD
Caitlin McArthur, PT, PhD
Ahmed Negm, MD, PhD
Sarah Park, MD
Aastha Relan, BHSc 
Olga Theou, PhD
Sigrid Vinson, RN, CCRA
Tricia Woo, MD

Clinical Validation Study
Hamilton Health Sciences, Centre for Healthy Aging
Geriatricians:
Brian Misiaszek, MD
Alexandra Papaioannou, MD
Christopher Patterson, MD
Mona Sidhu, MD
Richard Sztramko, MD
Mimi Wang, MD
Tricia Woo, MD

 

 

Clinical Validation Study
Rheumatology Outpatient Clinic, St. Joseph’s Hospital Hamilton:
Jonathan Adachi, MD
Arthur Lau, MD
Carolyn Leckie (Research Assistant)
Isabel Rodrigues, PhD
Alexa Kouroukis, BHSc
Suleman Tariq, BHSc

Software Developers:
The Create Team