Trial reportBMC geriatrics2018
Implementation of grip strength measurement in medicine for older people wards as part of routine admission assessment: identifying facilitators and barriers using a theory-led intervention.
Trial report in BMC geriatrics, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 38 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
38 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 66 citations in OpenAlex.
- Clinical importance of simple muscular fitness tests to predict long-term health conditions: a systematic review and meta-analysis of 94 cohort studies.British journal of sports medicine · 2026Pooled it
- The feasibility of assessing frailty and sarcopenia in hospitalised older people: a comparison of commonly used tools.BMC geriatrics · 2019Trial
- Assessment of physical function of hospitalized older patients in routine clinical practice predicts 1-year mortality; A cohort study of 5,062 medical and surgical patients.European geriatric medicine · 2026Article
- Implementing Systematic Assessment of Physical Function in Hospitalised Medical Patients: Description and Evaluation Guided By the Quality Implementation Framework.Journal of evaluation in clinical practice · 2026Article
- Associations between independent or concurrent decline in upper and lower limb strength and cognitive impairment.BMC geriatrics · 2026Article
- The feasibility of a set of physical resilience measurements in older patients admitted to the acute medical unit.BMC geriatrics · 2025Article
- The relationship of cytomegalovirus with physical functioning and health-related quality of life in older adults.European geriatric medicine · 2025Article
- Application of Pragmatic Criteria to Assessments of Frailty and Physical Function Among People With HIV.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2025Article
- Sarcopenia and its associated factors among hip fracture patients admitted to a North African (Egyptian) Level one trauma center, a cross-sectional study.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2025Article
- Relationship between handgrip strength and timed up-and-go test on hospitalization costs in older adults: a population-based study.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Article
- Handgrip Strength in Heart Failure: Developing a Reference Equation.Arquivos brasileiros de cardiologia · 2025Article
- Application of Normalization Process Theory in Discharge Planning: A Systematic Review of Implementation Strategies and Outcomes.Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare · 2025Review
- A Step Forward in the Assessment of Handgrip Strength in Heart Failure.Arquivos brasileiros de cardiologia · 2025Article
- The prevalence of small airways disease and association with handgrip strength in young Hispanic farmworkers.BMC pulmonary medicine · 2024Article
- Interrater Reliability and Precision of a Novel Hand Strength Assessment and Treatment Device: The GripAble.The American journal of occupational therapy : official publication of the American Occupational Therapy Association · 2024Article
- Fibromyalgia: A Review of the Pathophysiological Mechanisms and Multidisciplinary Treatment Strategies.Biomedicines · 2024Review
- Assessment of Cognitive Function in European Adults Aged 50+in Relation to Their Handgrip Strength and Physical Inactivity: The SHARE Study During 2019-2020.Journal of research in health sciences · 2024Article
- Sarcopenia prevalence using handgrip strength or chair stand performance in adults living with type 2 diabetes mellitus.Age and ageing · 2024Article
- Muscle loss phenotype in COPD is associated with adverse outcomes in the UK Biobank.BMC pulmonary medicine · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundLow grip strength in older inpatients is associated with poor healthcare outcomes including longer length of stay and mortality. Measuring grip strength is simple and inexpensive. However, it is not routinely used in clinical practice. We aimed to evaluate the implementation of grip strength measurement into routine clinical practice.
methodsThis implementation study was a mixed methods study based in five acute medical wards for older people in one UK hospital. Intervention design and implementation evaluation were based on Normalization Process Theory (NPT). A training program was developed and delivered to enable staff to measure grip strength and use a care plan for patients with low grip strength. Routine implementation and monitoring was assessed using the "implementation outcome variables" proposed by WHO: adoption, coverage, acceptability, fidelity, and costs analysis. Enablers and barriers of implementation were identified.
resultsOne hundred fifty-five nursing staff were trained, 63% in just 3 weeks. Adoption and monthly coverage of grip strength measurement varied between 25 and 80% patients across wards. 81% of female patients and 75% of male patients assessed had low grip strength (< 27 kg for men and < 16 kg for women). Staff and patients found grip measurement easy, cheap and potentially beneficial in identifying high-risk patients. The total cost of implementation across five wards over 12 months was less than £2302. Using NPT, interviews identified enablers and barriers. Enablers included: highly motivated ward champions, managerial support, engagement strategies, shared commitment, and integration into staff and ward daily routines. Barriers included lack of managerial and staff support, and high turnover of staff, managers and champions.
conclusionsTraining a large number of nurses to routinely implement grip strength measurement of older patients was feasible, acceptable and inexpensive. Champions' motivation, managerial support, and shared staff commitment were important for the uptake and normalisation of grip strength measurement. A high percentage of older patients were identified to be at risk of poor healthcare outcomes and would benefit from nutritional and exercise interventions. Measuring grip strength in these patients could provide an opportunity to identify those with normal grip strength for fast tracking through admission to discharge thereby reducing length of stay.
trial registrationClinicaltrials.gov NCTO2447445 . Registered May 18, 2015.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.