Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35655193›Full record

ArticleBMC geriatrics2022

Frailty, gaps in care coordination, and preventable adverse events.

Oluwasegun P Akinyelure, Calvin L Colvin, Madeline R Sterling, Monika M Safford, Paul Muntner, Lisandro D Colantonio, Lisa M Kern

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC geriatrics, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Addressing Frailty in the Emergency Department: Early Outcomes of a Geriatric Rapid Access Clinic.Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine · 2026
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Long-term recovery after critical illness in older adults.Current opinion in critical care · 2022
    Review
  8. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Oluwasegun P AkinyelureDepartment of Epidemiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
Calvin L ColvinDepartment of Epidemiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
Madeline R SterlingDepartment of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, 420 East 70th Street, Box 331, New York, NY, 10021, USA.
Monika M SaffordDepartment of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, 420 East 70th Street, Box 331, New York, NY, 10021, USA.
Paul MuntnerDepartment of Epidemiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
Lisandro D ColantonioDepartment of Epidemiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
Lisa M KernDepartment of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, 420 East 70th Street, Box 331, New York, NY, 10021, USA. lmk2003@med.cornell.edu.

Funding

VCID and Stroke in a Bi-racial National CohortU01NS041588 · NINDS · UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM · PI CUSHMAN, MARY, HOWARD, GEORGE · 2002 to 2022
$96.0M
Healthcare Fragmentation and Cardiovascular OutcomesR01HL135199 · NHLBI · WEILL MEDICAL COLL OF CORNELL UNIV · PI KERN, LISA M · 2017 to 2020
$3.3M
NHLBI NIH HHS R01 HL135199NINDS NIH HHS U01 NS041588
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundOlder US adults often receive care from multiple ambulatory providers. Seeing multiple providers may be clinically appropriate but creates challenges for communication. Whether frailty is a risk factor for gaps in communication among older adults and subsequent preventable adverse events is unknown.

methodsWe conducted a cross-sectional analysis of community-dwelling US adults ≥ 65 years of age in the REasons for Geographic And Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study who attended an in-home study examination in 2013-2016 and completed a survey on experiences with healthcare in 2017-2018 (n = 5,024). Using 5 frailty indicators (low body mass index, exhaustion, slow walk, weakness, and history of falls), we characterized participants into 3 mutually exclusive groups: not frail (0 indicators), intermediate-frail (1-2 indicators), and frail (3-5 indicators). We used survey data on self-reported gaps in care coordination and self-reported adverse events that participants attributed to poor communication among providers (a drug-drug interaction, repeat testing, an emergency department visit, or a hospital admission).

resultsOverall, 2,398 (47.7%) participants were not frail, 2,436 (48.5%) were intermediate-frail, and 190 (3.8%) were frail. The prevalence of any gap in care coordination was 37.0%, 40.8%, and 51.1% among participants who were not frail, intermediate-frail and frail, respectively. The adjusted prevalence ratio (PR) for any gap in care coordination among intermediate-frail and frail versus not frail participants was 1.09 (95% confidence interval [95%CI] 1.02-1.18) and 1.34 (95%CI 1.15-1.56), respectively. The prevalence of any preventable adverse event was 7.0%, 11.3% and 20.0% among participants who were not frail, intermediate-frail and frail, respectively. The adjusted PR for any preventable adverse event among those who were intermediate-frail and frail versus not frail was 1.47 (95%CI 1.22-1.77) and 2.24 (95%CI 1.60-3.14), respectively.

conclusionAmong older adults, frailty is associated with an increased prevalence for self-reported gaps in care coordination and preventable adverse events. Targeted interventions to address patient-reported concerns regarding care coordination among intermediate-frail and frail older adults may be warranted.

Indexed as

FrailtyAdultAgedCross-Sectional StudiesFrail ElderlyHumansIndependent LivingMiddle AgedPrevalenceAdverse eventsFrailtyGaps in care coordinationPreventable emergency department visitPreventable hospitalization

Identifiers

PMID35655193
PMCPMC9164877

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

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.