A consensus statement on minimum operational standards for geriatric emergency care in Belgium: a modified Delphi study

Abstract Background As emergency department (ED) leaders started integrating geriatric emergency guidelines on a facultative basis, important variations have emerged between EDs in care for older patients. The aim of this study was to establish a consensus on minimum operational standards for Geriatric ED care in Belgium. Methods A two-stage modified Delphi study was conducted. Twenty panellists were recruited from Dutch and French speaking regions in Belgium to join an interdisciplinary expert panel. In the first stage, an online survey was conducted to identify and define all possible elemen... Mehr ...

Verfasser: Heeren, Pieter
Islam, Farah
Desruelles, Didier
Flamaing, Johan
Sabbe, Marc
Milisen, Koen
Heerinckx, Philippe
Hubloue, Ives
Tran, Tuan Long
Wynants, Stefan
Ghekière, Veronique
De Brauwer, Isabelle
Beernaert, Laetitia
Cristelbach, Sophie
Guldemont, Sven
Lumen, Dieter
Sohet, Sebastien
Bogaerts, Emilie
Himschoot, Nadja
Michaux, Nicole
Dath, Mayelise
Biets, Robin
Piron, Cecile
Van den Heede, Koen
Vande Voorde, Carine
Ricour, Celine
Dokumenttyp: Artikel
Erscheinungsdatum: 2023
Reihe/Periodikum: BMC Geriatrics ; volume 23, issue 1 ; ISSN 1471-2318
Verlag/Hrsg.: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Schlagwörter: Geriatrics and Gerontology
Sprache: Englisch
Permalink: https://search.fid-benelux.de/Record/base-26603675
Datenquelle: BASE; Originalkatalog
Powered By: BASE
Link(s) : http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12877-023-04474-0

Abstract Background As emergency department (ED) leaders started integrating geriatric emergency guidelines on a facultative basis, important variations have emerged between EDs in care for older patients. The aim of this study was to establish a consensus on minimum operational standards for Geriatric ED care in Belgium. Methods A two-stage modified Delphi study was conducted. Twenty panellists were recruited from Dutch and French speaking regions in Belgium to join an interdisciplinary expert panel. In the first stage, an online survey was conducted to identify and define all possible elements of geriatric emergency care. In the second stage, an online survey and online expert panel meeting were organized consecutively to determine which elements should be recognized as minimum operational standards. Results Between March 2020 and February 2021, the expert panel developed a broad consensus including ten statements focusing on the target population, specific goals, availability of geriatric practitioners and quality assurance. Additionally, the expert panel also determined which protocols, materials and accommodation criteria should be available in conventional EDs (39 standards) and in observational EDs (57 standards). Conclusions This study presents a consensus on minimum operational standards for geriatric emergency care in two ED types: the conventional ED and the observational ED. These findings may serve as a starting point towards broadly supported minimum standards of care stipulated by legislation in Belgium or other countries.