Frailty Training for Emergency Nurses: A Cluster RCT in Morocco

NCT07892612 | Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: 57/2025
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 144
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This study tests whether a training program helps nurses better recognize and care for older adults with frailty in hospital emergency departments. Frailty is a condition where older adults become more vulnerable to health problems. A small illness or injury can cause serious complications for a frail person. Emergency nurses often lack training to identify frailty quickly. In this study, some nurses will take part in a structured training program. The program includes four modules covering what frailty is, how to screen for it, and what nurses can do to help. Other nurses will not receive the training during the study. All nurses will complete a survey before, right after, and three months after the training. The study will take place in eight public hospital emergency departments in the Marrakech-Safi region of Morocco. A total of 144 nurses will take part. Researchers will measure whether nurses in the training group have better knowledge, attitudes, and practices about frailty compared to those who did not receive training. Researchers will also check whether the improvements last after three months. Hospitals are randomly assigned to either the training group or the comparison group. This is called a cluster randomized trial.

Conditions

Frail Elderly; Frailty

Keywords

Frailty; Emergency Department; Morocco; Older Adults

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Knowledge Score on Geriatric Frailty

  Score on knowledge scale of the validated KAP questionnaire on geriatric frailty , measuring nurses' knowledge of frailty concepts, screening tools, clinical consequences, and nursing interventions.

  Baseline (T0), immediately after training (T1), and 3 months after training (T2)

Study Arms (2)

Intervention Group - Frailty Training Program

EXPERIMENTAL

Emergency nurses in this group receive a structured 4-module training program on geriatric frailty . The program covers aging biology, frailty screening tools including the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS), clinical consequences of frailty in emergency settings, and nursing interventions. Knowledge, attitudes, and practices are assessed before training (T0), immediately after (T1), and 3 months later (T2).

Other: Structured Educational Program on Geriatric Frailty

Control Group - No Intervention

NO INTERVENTION

Emergency nurses in this group receive no training during the study period. They complete the same knowledge, attitudes, and practices survey at T0, T1, and T2 as the intervention group. The training program will be offered to all control group nurses after T2 data collection is complete, in accordance with the principle of equitable access to beneficial interventions.

Interventions

Structured Educational Program on Geriatric Frailty OTHER

A 4-module hybrid training program on geriatric frailty for emergency nurses. Module 1 covers biology of aging. Module 2 covers the biology of frailty and risk factors. Module 3 covers frailty screening tools, including the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS). Module 4 covers clinical consequences of frailty and nursing interventions. Training is delivered over 8 weeks by a single trainer across all intervention sites (50% in-person workshops, 50% asynchronous e-learning). Fidelity is monitored using a standardized checklist after each session (minimum threshold: 80%).

Intervention Group - Frailty Training Program

Eligibility Criteria

• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Registered nurse holding a diploma recognized by Moroccan health authorities
• Currently working in an emergency department of a selected hospital
• Directly involved in clinical patient care
• Provision of written informed consent

You may not qualify if:

• Nursing students, trainees, or temporary staff
• Nurses working exclusively in administrative or supervisory roles without regular clinical activity
• Nurses who have previously completed a structured training program specifically focused on geriatric frailty screening or assessment

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Cadi Ayyad University: lead

Study Sites (1)

Mohammed V Provincial Hospital

Safi, SAFI, 46000, Morocco

RECRUITING

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Frailty; Emergencies

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Pathologic Processes; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Disease Attributes

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: OTHER
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: MPh

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: October 18, 2026
• First Posted: October 23, 2026
• Study Start: July 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2026
• Last Updated: October 23, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-10

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

MO (1)