Identification of Frailty in Primary Care: Feasibility and Acceptability of Recommended Case Finding Tools Within a Primary Care Integrated Seniors’ Program:

Background: Case finding for frailty is recommended as part of routine clinical practice. We aimed to test feasibility and acceptability of three recommended case finding tools in primary care as part of an integrated seniors’ program. Method: Program of Research to Integrate Services for the Maintenance of Autonomy-7 (PRISMA-7), 4-m walk test, and electronic frailty index (eFI) were used as frailty case finding tools for a target population of community-dwelling seniors ≥65 years of age enrolled in a seniors’ program within an academic primary care clinic in Alberta, Canada. Feasibility was measured by percent completion rate and requirements for training/equipment/space/time, and acceptability by health care providers was measured using focus groups. Results: Eighty-five patients underwent case finding and 16 health care providers participated in the focus groups. Completion rate for PRISMA-7, 4-m walk test, and eFI was 97.6%, 93%, and 100%, respectively. No special training or equipment was required fo...