N23 Nurses’ Competencies in the Care of Frail Elderly Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease

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Abstract Background Approximately 25–35% of the IBD population is over 60 years. Frailty is increasingly recognized as a key concept in elderly patients with IBD. Assessing frailty provides a more accurate picture of their health status and care needs. This study aims to identify nurses’ competencies in caring for frail elderly patients with IBD, as well as the barriers and facilitators influencing their performance. Methods An observational, cross-sectional, multicenter study was conducted using a survey distributed among members of the Spanish IBD Nursing Group (GETEII). In addition to demographic variables, competencies in caring for frail elderly patients were assessed using a Spanish adaptation of the “Questionnaire on the Feasibility and Impact of a short training course on frailty for Primary Health Care professionals” developed by Kotsani et al. (2021). Data collection was performed using REDCap. Ethics approval was obtained from the Vall d’Hebron Research Ethics Committee PR(AG)147/2022 Results A total of 206 invitations were sent, resulting in 63 complete responses (30.58%) and 1 incomplete. The mean age of the participants was 45.48 years (SD 8.98), with 57 women (90.5%). Overall, 57.1% had been in the profession for > 20 years, and 1/3 had worked in IBD for 2 to 5 years. More than 50% reported that between 0 and 25% of their patients were >75 years old. Regarding the concept of frailty, 44.4% reported being familiar with it. However, 80% of participants considered it a natural consequence of aging and therefore an inevitable aspect of aging. Notably, 98% of nurses believed that frailty can be prevented and addressed. If we focus on their screening, 77.8% considered it useful, and 82.5% it is part of nursing competencies. However, more than 80% had never or occasionally used a screening tool. More than half of participants self-reported their training in caring for frail elderly patients as limited or poor. Nevertheless, their self-perceived knowledge and skills to recognize and manage frailty is mostly good. The main facilitating factor identified was interprofessional collaboration (34, 54%), and the main limiting factors were lack of time (49, 77.8%) and lack of specialized knowledge on frailty (45, 71.4%). Conclusion As stated in 2nd NECCO guidelines, advanced IBD nurses need to assess patients’ frailty using validated scales. However, there is a lack of training, specialized knowledge and time to implement this practice. These findings will enable the development of strategies to reinforce teams’ knowledge, skills and motivation to deliver optimal care for frail elderly patients with IBD. References: Kotsani M, Avgerinou C, Haidich AB, et al. Feasibility and impact of a short training course on frailty destined for primary health care professionals. European Geriatric Medicine. 2021;12(2):333-346. doi:10.1007/s41999-021-00467-7 Mañosa M, Calafat M, Francia E, et al. DOCUMENTO DE POSICIONAMIENTO DE GETECCU SOBRE FRAGILIDAD, EDAD AVANZADA Y ENFERMEDAD INFLAMATORIA INTESTINAL. Gastroenterología y Hepatología. Published online 2025:502529. doi:10.1016/j.gastrohep.2025.502529 Asscher VER, Waars SN, van der Meulen-de Jong AE, et al. Deficits in Geriatric Assessment Associate With Disease Activity and Burden in Older Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. 2022;20(5):e1006-e1021. doi:10.1016/j.cgh.2021.06.015 Kemp K, Dibley L, Chauhan U, et al. Second N-ECCO consensus statements on the European nursing roles in caring for patients with crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis. Journal of Crohn’s and Colitis. 2018;12(7):760-776. doi:10.1093/ecco-jcc/jjy020 Conflict of interest: Navarro Correal, Ester: I have provided scientific advice to: AbbVie, Biogen, Janssen, MSD, Pfizer, Sandoz, Takeda I have participated in medical meetings organized by: AbbVie, Biogen, Janssen, MSD, Pfizer, Sandoz, Takeda, Tillots, Lilly I have received research funding from: GETECCU, GETEII, the Department of the Government of Catalonia, VHIR I have received payments for presentations and advice from: AbbVie, Biogen, Janssen, MSD, Pfizer, Sandoz, Takeda Murciano Gonzalo, Francisca: Personal Fees: Janssen, Abbvie, MSD, Takeda Marin Sanchez, Laura: I have provided scientific advice to: AbbVie, Biogen, Janssen, MSD, Pfizer, Sandoz, Takeda I have participated in medical meetings organized by: AbbVie, Biogen, Janssen, MSD, Pfizer, Sandoz, Takeda, Tillots, Lilly I have received research funding from: GETECCU, GETEII, I have received payments for presentations and advice from: AbbVie, Biogen, Janssen, MSD, Pfizer, Sandoz, Takeda Carrizo, Gabriela: No conflict of interest Pedrosa, Ángela: No conflict of interest