Strategies to overcome barriers to implementing osteoporosis and fracture prevention guidelines in long-term care: a qualitative analysis of action plans suggested by front line staff in Ontario, Canada

Assessing the feasibility of an integrated collection of education modules for fall and fracture prevention (iCARE) for healthcare providers in long term care: A longitudinal study

Falls and hip fractures are a major health concern among older adults in long term care (LTC) with almost 50% of residents experiencing a fall annually. Hip fractures are one of the most important and frequent fall-related injuries in LTC. There is moderate to strong certainty evidence that multifactorial interventions may reduce the risk of falls and fractures; however, there is little evidence to support its implementation. The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility (recruitment rate and adaptations) with a subobjective to understand facilitators to and barriers of implementing the PREVENT (Person-centred Routine Fracture PreEVENTion) model in practice. The model includes a multifactorial intervention on diet, exercise, environmental adaptations, hip protectors, medications (including calcium and vitamin D), and medication reviews to treat residents at high risk of fracture. Our secondary outcomes were to determine if there was a change in knowledge uptake of the guidelines among healthcare providers and in the proportion of fracture prevention prescriptions post-intervention. We conducted a mixed-methods longitudinal cohort study in three LTC homes across southern Ontario. A local champion was selected to help guide the implementation of the model and promote best practices. We reported recruitment rates using descriptive statistics and challenges to implementation using content analysis. We reported changes in knowledge uptake and in the proportion of fracture prevention medications using the McNemar's test. We recruited three LTC homes and identified one local champion for each home. We required two months to identify and train the local champion over three, 1.5-hour train-the-trainer sessions, and the local champion required three months to deliver the intervention to a team of healthcare professionals. We identified several facilitators, barriers, and adaptations to PREVENT. Benefits of the model include easy access to the Fracture Risk Scale (FRS), clear and succinct educational material catered to each healthcare professional, and an accredited Continuing Medical Educational module for physicians and nurses. Challenges included misperceptions between the differences in fall and fracture prevention strategies, fear of perceived side effects associated with fracture prevention medications, and time barriers with completing the audit report. Our study found an increase knowledge uptake of the guidelines and an increase in the proportion of fracture prevention prescriptions post-intervention.

Integrating Endocrine, Genomic, and Extra-Skeletal Benefits of Vitamin D into National and Regional Clinical Guidelines

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES

Vitamin D is essential for bone health, immune function, and overall well-being. Numerous ecological, observational, and prospective studies, including randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs), report an inverse association between higher serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D; calcifediol] levels in various conditions, including cardiovascular disease, metabolic disorders such as diabetes and obesity, susceptibility to infection-related complications, autoimmune diseases, and all-cause mortality.

RESULTS

Vitamin D operates through two distinct systems. The endocrine system comprises the renal tubular cell-derived circulatory calcitriol, which primarily regulates calcium homeostasis and muscular functions. In contrast, intracellularly generated calcitriol in peripheral target cells is responsible for intracrine/paracrine system signaling and calcitriol-vitamin D receptor-mediated genomic effects. Government-appointed committees and health organizations have developed various clinical practice guidelines for vitamin D supplementation and management. However, these guidelines heavily relied on the 2011 Institute of Medicine (IoM) report, which focused solely on the skeletal effects of vitamin D, ignoring other body systems. Thus, they do not represent maintaining good overall health and aspects of disease prevention. Additionally, the IoM report was intended as a public health recommendation for the government and is not a clinical guideline.

DISCUSSION

New country- and regional-specific guidelines must focus on healthy nations through disease prevention and reducing healthcare costs. They should not be restricted to bone effect and must encompass all extra-skeletal benefits. Nevertheless, due to misunderstandings, medical societies and other governments have used faulty IoM report as a foundation for creating vitamin D guidelines. Consequently, they placed disproportionate emphasis on bone health while largely overlooking its benefits for other bodily systems, making current guidelines, including 2024, the Endocrine Society less applicable to the public. As a result, the utility of published guidelines has been significantly reduced for clinical practice and RCTs that designed on bone-centric are generate misleading information and remain suboptimal for public health and disease prevention.

CONCLUSIONS

This review and its recommendations address the gaps in current vitamin D clinical practice guidelines and propose a framework for developing more effective, country and region-specific recommendations that capture the extra-skeletal benefits of vitamin D to prevent multiple diseases and enhance public health.

Osteoporosis management in Australian aged care facilities: a mixed method study

Osteoporosis is a common but sub-optimally managed disease amongst aged care residents. Pharmacists undertaking comprehensive medication reviews is one strategy to improve osteoporosis management. Analysis of pharmacist medication review recommendations has identified common clinical practice issues that can be addressed to optimise osteoporosis management for aged care residents.

PURPOSE

This study investigates the prevalence of osteoporosis medicine use amongst Australian aged care residents and explores drug-related problems (DRPs) identified during medication reviews and pharmacist recommendations to resolve them.

METHODS

Resident demographics, medications, diagnoses, osteoporosis related DRPs, and recommendations to resolve them were extracted from medication review reports. A mixed methods approach was taken to analysis, involving descriptive statistical analysis and content analysis.

RESULTS

Medication review reports relating to 980 residents were collected. Antiresorptive therapies were used by 21.7% of residents, of which 87.2% were prescribed denosumab. Osteoporosis related DRPs represented 14.0% of all DRPs identified by pharmacists. Vitamin D was involved in 55.4% of these DRPs, the remainder concerned antiresorptive therapies (23.4%), medications contributing to osteoporosis (16.3%), and calcium (4.9%). Frequent deviations in practice from aged care clinical guidelines and consensus recommendations concerning vitamin D and calcium were found. DRPs and accompanying recommendations relating to denosumab revealed inadequate monitoring and inadvertent therapy disruptions.

CONCLUSION

Pharmacist identified DRPs and recommendations revealed common aspects of clinical practice that can be addressed to improve osteoporosis management for aged care residents. A need to raise awareness of aged care-specific consensus recommendations concerning vitamin D and calcium is evident. Facility protocols and procedures must be developed and implemented to ensure safe and effective use of denosumab.

Factors that influence the implementation of innovation in aged care: a scoping review

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this scoping review is to identify factors that influence the implementation of innovation in aged care.

INTRODUCTION

Aged care is a dynamic sector experiencing rapid change. Implementation of innovations in aged care has received relatively little research attention compared to health care.

INCLUSION CRITERIA

This review included studies of any design, that examined the implementation of innovations in aged care settings.

METHODS

Searches were conducted in MEDLINE, CINAHL, AgeLine, and ProQuest Social Sciences Premium Collection for studies published between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2022. The titles and abstracts of retrieved citations were screened by two independent reviewers. Full-text articles were screened by one reviewer to determine inclusion. Data were extracted in NVivo using a tool developed by the research team. Factors that influenced implementation were inductively coded, interpreted, and grouped into categories in a series of workshops.

RESULTS

Of the 2530 studies that were screened, 193 were included. Of the included papers, the majority (74%) related to residential aged care, 28% used an implementation theory or framework, and 15% involved consumers. Five key categories of factors influencing implementation were identified: organizational context including resourcing and culture; people's attitudes and capabilities; relationships between people; the intervention and its appropriateness; and implementation actions such as stakeholder engagement and implementation strategies.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings can be used to develop practical resources to support implementation efforts, and highlight the importance of resourcing for successful implementation. Attention to community-based aged care, and greater engagement with theory and community is needed to promote research rigor, relevance and applicability.

Non-Adherence to Anti-Osteoporosis Medication: Factors Influencing and Strategies to Overcome It. A Narrative Review

To evaluate the reasons for inadequate adherence to osteoporosis therapy and to describe the strategies for improving adherence to and persistence with regular medications, we conducted a review of the literature. The primary outcome of the study was the determination of the factors adverse to the onset and maintenance of anti-osteoporosis therapies. Secondly, we focused on studies whose efforts led to finding different strategies to improve adherence and persistence. We identified a total of 26 articles. The most recurrent and significant factors identified were aging, polypharmacy, and smoking habits. Different strategies to guide patients in their osteoporosis care have been identified, such as monitoring and follow-up via telephone calls, email, and promotional meetings, and proactive care interventions such as medication monitoring, post-fracture care programs, and decision aids. Changes in the drugs regimen and dispensation are strategies tried to lead to better adherence and persistence, but also improved satisfaction of patients undergoing anti-osteoporosis treatment. Patient involvement is an important factor to increase medication persistence while using a flexible drugs regimen.

Barriers and Expectations for Patients in Post-Osteoporotic Fracture Care in France: The EFFEL Study

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to quantify the relative importance of barriers to better secondary prevention of osteoporotic fractures and of care expectations expressed by patients with osteoporotic fractures in France.

METHODS

A qualitative exploration of potential barriers to care and expectations was undertaken through a systematic literature review and in-depth patients interviews. A list of 21 barriers and 21 expectations was identified. These were presented to 324 subjects with osteoporotic fractures, identified in a representative sample of the French population, in the form of best-worst scaling questionnaires. Patients rated the relative importance of the attributes, and arithmetic mean importance scores were calculated and ranked. A Bayesian hierarchical model was also performed to generate a relative importance score. Latent class analysis was performed to identify potential subgroups of patients with different response profiles.

RESULTS

A total of 7 barriers were rated as the most important, relating to awareness of osteoporosis and coordination of care. The highest-ranked barrier, "my fracture is not related to osteoporosis," was significantly more important than all the others (mean importance score 0.45; 95% confidence interval 0.33-0.56). A similar ranking of attributes was obtained with both the arithmetic and the Bayesian approach. For expectations, no clear hierarchy of attributes was identified. Latent class analysis discriminated 3 classes of respondents with significant differences in response profiles (the educated environmentalists, the unaware, and the victims of the system).

CONCLUSIONS

Better quality of care of osteoporosis and effective secondary fracture prevention will require improvements in patient education, training of healthcare professionals, and coordination of care.

Barriers and facilitators to implementing evidence-based guidelines in long-term care: a qualitative evidence synthesis

BACKGROUND

The long-term care setting poses unique challenges and opportunities for effective knowledge translation. The objectives of this review are to (1) synthesize barriers and facilitators to implementing evidence-based guidelines in long-term care, as defined as a home where residents require 24-h nursing care, and 50% of the population is over the age of 65 years; and (2) map barriers and facilitators to the Behaviour Change Wheel framework to inform theory-guided knowledge translation strategies.

METHODS

Following the guidance of the Cochrane Qualitative and Implementation Methods Group Guidance Series and the ENTREQ reporting guidelines, we systematically reviewed the reported experiences of long-term care staff on implementing evidence-based guidelines into practice. MEDLINE Pubmed, EMBASE Ovid, and CINAHL were searched from the earliest date available until May 2021. Two independent reviewers selected primary studies for inclusion if they were conducted in long-term care and reported the perspective or experiences of long-term care staff with implementing an evidence-based practice guideline about health conditions. Appraisal of the included studies was conducted using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme Checklist and confidence in the findings with the GRADE-CERQual approach.

FINDINGS

After screening 2680 abstracts, we retrieved 115 full-text articles; 33 of these articles met the inclusion criteria. Barriers included time constraints and inadequate staffing, cost and lack of resources, and lack of teamwork and organizational support. Facilitators included leadership and champions, well-designed strategies, protocols, and resources, and adequate services, resources, and time. The most frequent Behaviour Change Wheel components were physical and social opportunity and psychological capability. We concluded moderate or high confidence in all but one of our review findings.

CONCLUSIONS

Future knowledge translation strategies to implement guidelines in long-term care should target physical and social opportunity and psychological capability, and include interventions such as environmental restructuring, training, and education.

Increasing the uptake of vitamin D supplement use in Australian residential aged care facilities: results from the vitamin D implementation (ViDAus) study

BACKGROUND

Adequate (≥800 IU/day) vitamin D supplement use in Australian residential aged care facilities (RACFs) is variable and non-optimal. The vitamin D implementation (ViDAus) study aimed to employ a range of strategies to support the uptake of this best practice in participating facilities. The aim of this paper is to report on facility level prevalence outcomes and factors associated with vitamin D supplement use.

METHODS

This trial followed a stepped wedge cluster, non-randomised design with 41 individual facilities serving as clusters pragmatically allocated into two wedges that commenced the intervention six months apart. This multifaceted, interdisciplinary knowledge translation intervention was led by a project officer, who worked with nominated champions at participating facilities to provide education and undertake quality improvement (QI) planning. Local barriers and responsive strategies were identified to engage stakeholders and promote widespread uptake of vitamin D supplement use.

RESULTS

This study found no significant difference in the change of vitamin D supplement use between the intervention (17 facilities with approx. 1500 residents) and control group (24 facilities with approx. 1900 residents) at six months (difference in prevalence change between groups was 1.10, 95% CI - 3.8 to 6.0, p = 0.6). The average overall facility change in adequate (≥800 IU/day) vitamin D supplement use over 12 months was 3.86% (95% CI 0.6 to 7.2, p = 0.02), which achieved a facility level average prevalence of 59.6%. The variation in uptake at 12 months ranged from 25 to 88% of residents at each facility. In terms of the types of strategies employed for implementation, there were no statistical differences between facilities that achieved a clinically meaningful improvement (≥10%) or a desired prevalence of vitamin D supplement use (80% of residents) compared to those that did not.

CONCLUSIONS

This work confirms the complex nature of implementation of best practice in the RACF setting and indicates that more needs to be done to ensure best practice is translated into action. Whilst some strategies appeared to be associated with better outcomes, the statistical insignificance of these findings and the overall limited impact of the intervention suggests that the role of broader organisational and governmental support for implementation should be investigated further.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Retrospectively registered (ANZCTR ID: ACTRN12616000782437 ).

Preventing Fractures in Long-Term Care: Translating Recommendations to Clinical Practice

The Ontario Osteoporosis Strategy for long-term care (LTC) aims to support fracture risk-reduction. LTC specific recommendations for fracture prevention were developed in 2015. This article describes the use of the Knowledge-to Action framework to guide the development and application of research evidence on fracture prevention in older adults. Knowledge translation activities highlighted fractures as a significant source of morbidity in LTC, significant gaps in fracture risk assessment and treatment, and barriers and facilitators to guideline implementation. Multifaceted knowledge translation strategies, targeting staff in LTC homes in Ontario, Canada to support fracture guideline implementation have included education, audit and feedback, team-based action planning, and engagement of LTC residents, their families, and health professionals. Provincial administrative databases were accessed to monitor fracture rates between 2005 and 2015. Our research has identified enablers and barriers to knowledge use such as limited knowledge of osteoporosis, fracture risk, and prevention. Province-wide over a 10-year period, hip fracture rates in LTC decreased from 2.3% to 1.9%, and any fracture rates decreased from 4% to 3.6%. This body of work suggests that multifaceted knowledge translation initiatives are feasible to implement in LTC and can improve the uptake of clinical recommendations for fracture prevention. A key aspect of our fracture prevention knowledge translation activities has been the full engagement of key stakeholders to assist in the co-development and design of knowledge translation products.

Process outcomes of a multifaceted, interdisciplinary knowledge translation intervention in aged care: results from the vitamin D implementation (ViDAus) study

BACKGROUND

Vitamin D supplement use is recommended best practice in residential aged care facilities (RACFs) for the prevention of falls, however has experienced delays in uptake. Following successful international efforts at implementing this evidence into practice, the ViDAus study sought to replicate this success for the Australian context. The aim of this paper is to report on the process outcomes of implementing this intervention.

METHODS

Forty-one RACFs were engaged in a multifaceted, interdisciplinary knowledge translation intervention. This focused on raising awareness to improve knowledge on vitamin D, and supporting facilities to identify barriers and implement locally devised strategies to improve the uptake of evidence based practice (EBP).

RESULTS

Staff members of participating facilities (n = 509 including nursing, care and allied health staff) were well engaged and accepting of the intervention, though engagement of servicing general practitioners (GPs) (n = 497) and pharmacists (n = 9) was poor. Facilities each identified between three and eight strategies focused on raising awareness, identifying residents to target for vitamin D and creating referral pathways depending upon their own locally identified barriers and capacity. There was variable success at implementing these over the 12-month intervention period. Whilst this study successfully raised awareness among staff, residents and their family members, barriers were identified that hindered engagement of GPs.

CONCLUSIONS

The intervention was overall feasible to implement and perceived as appropriate by GPs, pharmacists, facility staff, residents and family members. More facilitation, higher-level organisational support and strategies to improve RACF access to GPs however were identified as important improvements for the implementation of vitamin D supplement use.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Retrospectively registered (ANZCTR ID: ACTRN12616000782437 ) on 15 June 2016.

Validation of a one year fracture prediction tool for absolute hip fracture risk in long term care residents

BACKGROUND

Frail older adults living in long term care (LTC) homes have a high fracture risk, which can result in reduced quality of life, pain and death. The Fracture Risk Scale (FRS) was designed for fracture risk assessment in LTC, to optimize targeting of services in those at highest risk. This study aims to examine the construct validity and discriminative properties of the FRS in three Canadian provinces at 1-year follow up.

METHODS

LTC residents were included if they were: 1) Adults admitted to LTC homes in Ontario (ON), British Columbia (BC) and Manitoba (MB) Canada; and 2) Received a Resident Assessment Instrument Minimum Data Set Version 2.0. After admission to LTC, one-year hip fracture risk was evaluated for all the included residents using the FRS (an eight-level risk scale, level 8 represents the highest fracture risk). Multiple logistic regressions were used to determine the differences in incident hip or all clinical fractures across the provinces and FRS risk levels. We examined the differences in incident hip or all clinical fracture for each FRS level across the three provinces (adjusted for age, BMI, gender, fallers and previous fractures). We used the C-statistic to assess the discriminative properties of the FRS for each province.

RESULTS

Descriptive statistics on the LTC populations in ON (n = 29,848), BC (n = 3129), and MB (n = 2293) are: mean (SD) age 82 (10), 83 (10), and 84 (9), gender (female %) 66, 64, and 70% respectively. The incident hip fractures and all clinical fractures for FRS risk level were similar among the three provinces and ranged from 0.5 to 19.2% and 1 to 19.2% respectively. The overall discriminative properties of the FRS were similar between ON (C-statistic = 0.673), BC (C-statistic = 0.644) and MB (C-statistic = 0.649) samples.

CONCLUSION

FRS is a valid tool for identifying LTC residents at different risk levels for hip or all clinical fractures in three provinces. Having a fracture risk assessment tool that is tailored to the LTC context and embedded within the routine clinical assessment may have significant implications for policy, service delivery and care planning, and may improve care for LTC residents across Canada.

Patterns in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Osteoporosis in Men: A Questionnaire-based Survey in Central and Eastern European Countries

To assess the current practice patterns in the diagnosis and treatment of male osteoporosis based on questionnaires. Questionnaires were presented and filled out by osteoporosis experts from Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Russia. The questions included focused on the proportion of male referrals to DXA, the main reasons for referral, the preferred measurement sites and reference database, the definition of male osteoporosis, needed laboratory investigations, data on calcium and vitamin D supplementation as well as on treatment modalities and their reimbursement rate. Men comprised 5 to 10% of all DXA referrals. The main reasons for referral were low back pain and fractures. Most of the respondents used the International male reference database. The diagnosis of osteoporosis was based mainly on a T-score below −2.5 after the age of 50, but a few respondents added fractures as a necessary condition. Only 1/3 of men visiting DXA sites are expected to have normal BMD. A consensus for the use of laboratory investigations in male osteoporosis is practically lacking. Treatment modalities include alendronate, risedronate, zoledronate, denosumab, rhPTH and strontium (with some restrictions for the latter three). Data on treatment adherence and persistence are generally lacking except for Austria, Romania and Slovakia. The levels of reimbursement vary a lot across countries. Osteoporosis in men is an under-recognized problem in CEE countries, leading to a tremendous gap in the diagnosis and treatment.

Role of Side Effects, Physician Involvement, and Patient Perception in Non-Adherence with Oral Bisphosphonates

INTRODUCTION

The benefits of osteoporosis therapy are compromised by low adherence, thus requiring a better understanding of its barriers and unmet needs. The objective of this study was to assess reasons for non-adherence with oral bisphosphonates among osteoporotic women.

METHODS

A cross-sectional patient survey of women who initiated therapy with risedronate or alendronate between the years 2010 and 2012 were non-adherent [Medication Possession Ratio (MPR) <70%] or switched therapy within the first year. Survey participants were identified using Maccabi Health Services computerized database. Patients who gave informed consent completed a 20-min telephonic survey, assessing reasons for discontinuation or switching, including physician involvement, side effects, administration regimen, perceptions of bone health, and medications' efficacy.

RESULTS

The study population included 493 females (mean age = 66 ± 7) of whom 40% discontinued all anti-osteoporotic therapy (mean MPR = 19%), 9% remained on initial therapy (mean MPR = 47%), and 51% switched therapy (mean MPR = 62%). Family history, fracture history, socioeconomic status, and index drug class and frequency were similar in all groups. The most common reasons for switching or discontinuation of the first-line therapy were gastrointestinal side effects, such as heartburn, acid reflux or other (40.0%), and physician recommendation (26.7%). The major reasons for complete discontinuation of therapy were side effects (26.9%) and physician recommendation (20.0%). Perceived low importance was more commonly mentioned than high cost of medication (14% vs. 3%).

CONCLUSION

Our findings highlight the importance of low tolerability to non-adherence with osteoporosis therapy and underlines poor patients' awareness and sub-optimal physicians' involvement in conveying the importance of this therapy.

FUNDING

Merck & Co Inc.

Vitamin D status and its predictors in New Zealand aged-care residents eligible for a government-funded universal vitamin D supplementation programme

OBJECTIVE

The provision of prescribed vitamin D to all aged-care residents has been implemented in New Zealand as part of a government-led falls prevention programme. To our knowledge, there has been no evaluation of this universal programme on vitamin D status and functional and health outcomes. Thus, we aimed to determine 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentrations and their predictors in aged-care residents across the country and to investigate whether the government-funded programme was associated with adequate vitamin D status.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional survey of sociodemographic, biochemical, anthropometric, dietary and health characteristics. Blood samples were analysed for serum 25(OH)D and other biochemical measures. Multiple regression was used to examine predictors of vitamin D status.

SETTING

Sixteen residential aged-care facilities throughout New Zealand.

SUBJECTS

Residents aged ≥60 years with residency duration >12 weeks (n 309).

RESULTS

Mean serum 25(OH)D was 89·9 (95 % CI 85·2, 94·5) nmol/l and monthly supplements (1250 µg (50 000 IU)) were taken by 75 % of all residents. Of those not taking a funded supplement, 65·3 % had serum 25(OH)D 125 nmol/l.

CONCLUSIONS

Residents taking supplemental vitamin D had adequate vitamin D status; however monitoring of long-term supplementation should be considered, due to the high proportion of participants with high serum 25(OH)D levels.