Grant: Planning and Dissemination Grant - Institute Community Support

Mobility decline is common during hospitalization. About 30% to 60% of older adults experience decreased ability to walk independently or access to transport and driving following hospitalization. Research has shown that older adults are more likely to be readmitted to the hospital due to functional decline rather than chronic conditions. Yet, during hospital discharge, clinicians mainly focus on teaching older adults how to manage their chronic conditions and do not pay as much attention to addressing their mobility. The lack of a comprehensive mobility assessment framework, among other reasons, has been identified as a reason why clinicians often do not assess older adults' mobility during hospital discharge. Our team has developed a Comprehensive Mobility Discharge Assessment Framework (COMDAF) for older adults transitioning from hospital to home. The COMDAF comprises 43 mobility factors developed with 60 international experts (seven older adults, nine unpaid caregivers, 24 clinicians and 20 researchers) from nine countries. However, assessing all 43 mobility factors when older adults are discharged home would be impossible because leaving the hospital happens quickly and can be quite busy. This project will bring together 30 clinicians, researchers, trainees, older adults and unpaid caregivers, for a two-day (a) narrow down the 43 mobility factors into the most important (core) mobility factor for the COMDAF (Day 1 -online), and (b) talk about how realistic and practical it is to use the core/standard COMDAF in assessing older adults' mobility when they are being discharged (Day 2 - in person). This two-day stakeholders' meeting will produce core mobility factors and documentation on the facilitators and barriers of using COMDAF during hospital discharge to support the development of a CIHR Project Grant Proposal, which will aim to test the feasibility and practicality of using COMDAF to reduce hospital readmissions and improve patient and hospital outcomes.