Logan Benignus, Young Adrienne, Ludlow Kristiana, Ward David, Hanjani Leila Shafiee, Reid Natasha, Hubbard Ruth E
Australian Frailty Network, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia; Centre for Health Services Research, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia; Department of Medicine, Mater Hospital, Brisbane, Australia; Internal Medicine Services, The Prince Charles Hospital, Brisbane, Australia.
Australian Frailty Network, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia; Centre for Health Services Research, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
J Frailty Aging. 2025 Aug 2;14(5):100074. doi: 10.1016/j.tjfa.2025.100074.
There has been success in implementing frailty education for healthcare professionals, but there remains a need to improve the knowledge and skills of researchers and healthcare professionals to develop, implement and evaluate frailty-focused research.
This paper describes how the Australian Frailty Network developed and evaluated a virtual community of practice (VCOP), a proven model for fostering knowledge mobilisation, to support researchers and healthcare professionals in advancing frailty research and practice in Australia.
Mixed methods.
Australian research and healthcare workplaces.
Researchers and healthcare professionals.
A survey of prospective members sought to define the VCOP's purpose, membership and structure. An evaluation was undertaken 18 months post-commencement, guided by the RE-AIM framework to assess reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation and maintenance.
Fifty-five prospective members completed the initial survey. There was wide agreement from respondents to be inclusive in defining membership. The preferred purposes of the group included networking, opportunities to gain feedback, review frailty research, and knowledge and skill acquisition. In response, Frailty Nexus was launched, with three core components ('Learning Link-Up', online learning events; 'Nexus News', newsletter sharing learning and research opportunities; 'Nexus Nook', a library of shared resources). Membership totalled 618 from 81 organisations. Ninety-six percent of surveyed members expressed satisfaction with Frailty Nexus.
Frailty Nexus is contributing to capacity building in multidisciplinary and translational frailty research. This VCOP could serve as a model that can be adapted by others to improve research outcomes and policy implementation.
在为医疗保健专业人员开展衰弱教育方面已取得成功，但仍需要提高研究人员和医疗保健专业人员在开展、实施和评估以衰弱为重点的研究方面的知识和技能。
本文描述了澳大利亚衰弱网络如何开发和评估一个虚拟实践社区（VCOP），这是一个促进知识传播的成熟模式，以支持研究人员和医疗保健专业人员推动澳大利亚的衰弱研究和实践。
混合方法。
澳大利亚的研究和医疗工作场所。
研究人员和医疗保健专业人员。
对潜在成员进行的一项调查旨在确定VCOP的目的、成员资格和结构。在启动18个月后进行了一次评估，以RE-AIM框架为指导，评估覆盖面、有效性、采用情况、实施情况和维持情况。
55名潜在成员完成了初始调查。受访者普遍同意在定义成员资格时应具有包容性。该团体的首选目的包括建立联系、获得反馈的机会、审查衰弱研究以及获取知识和技能。作为回应，推出了衰弱联系平台（Frailty Nexus），它有三个核心组成部分（“学习连接”，在线学习活动；“联系新闻”，分享学习和研究机会的时事通讯；“联系角落”，一个共享资源库）。成员来自81个组织，总数为618人。96%的受访成员对衰弱联系平台表示满意。
衰弱联系平台正在为多学科和转化性衰弱研究的能力建设做出贡献。这个VCOP可以作为一个模式，供其他机构借鉴，以改善研究成果和政策实施。
