‘Focus on Frailty’: Co-Designing Digital Frailty Education with Healthcare Students

Introduction: Frailty is prevalent in hospitals and is associated with adverse events and poor health outcomes. In Australia, there is a need for co-designed, multidisciplinary, and contextually relevant frailty education to improve healthcare students’ understanding and knowledge of frailty within the hospital setting. Objective: This study aimed to i) explore healthcare students’ understanding of frailty and their experiences with patients who are frail, and ii) seek healthcare students’ design ideas for the content of a new digital frailty education course. Methods: Participants were university students enrolled in a health-related degree. Online focus groups and interviews were conducted between August and September 2023. Participants were asked about their experiences with frailty education, older adults and people living with frailty; course content; education module topics; and the course name. Participants also completed a demographic questionnaire and a Research Engagement Feedback Survey. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze quantitative data. Qualitative data were analyzed using inductive template analysis, a type of codebook thematic analysis. Results: Four themes were identified: 1) Perception of frailty as loss and decline; 2) Limited education on frailty; 3) Frailty education connected to the reality of practice; and 4) Learning and practicing person-centered care. Module topics prioritized by students were ‘identifying and assessing frailty’ and ‘understanding ageing, frailty, and geriatric conditions’. Participants advocated for a course name that was catchy and succinct, informing the course name: ‘Focus on Frailty’. Discussion: Healthcare students expressed a desire to learn more about frailty and advocated for education that is skills-based, encourages practical application of knowledge, features storytelling and lived experiences, takes a holistic approach to frailty, and teaches person-centered care. Study findings will directly influence the design of education module topics and course content, and enhance Focus on Frailty’s relevance to the Australian healthcare context across medicine, nursing and allied health practice.