Healthcare professionals' understanding and current practice in sarcopenia screening and diagnosis in the UK: a qualitative study.

OBJECTIVES

To explore healthcare professionals' (HCPs') understanding and current practice in the screening and diagnosis of sarcopenia to help with the development of a standardised sarcopenia screening tool that can be implemented within the National Health Service (NHS) of the UK.

DESIGN

A qualitative study using semistructured interviews that were analysed using Braun and Clarke's reflexive thematic analysis steps.

SETTING

The interviews were conducted online.

PARTICIPANTS

Ten HCPs (consultants, physiotherapists, community matrons, dieticians and community falls specialists) within acute or community NHS settings based in the West Yorkshire area. No prior knowledge of sarcopenia was necessary.

RESULTS

Five key themes were identified including (1) sarcopenia as an unseen condition; (2) current practice for sarcopenia screening; (3) challenges of measurement; (4) knowledge gaps and awareness and (5) patient trust and engagement. Interviews revealed a lack of consistency of sarcopenia awareness and understanding across HCPs, no formal screening of sarcopenia and several barriers including time constraints, resource limitations, lack of access to equipment and insufficient education on sarcopenia and its clinical consequences.

CONCLUSIONS

There is a need for a standardised screening tool to be implemented within NHS care pathways to allow for the early assessment and early management of sarcopenia. The future screening tool should embed a clear process of the measurements to be taken (including identifying which HCPs are responsible), defined management pathways for patients identified as sarcopenic, and integrated education for HCPs to promote cross-skilling of HCPs and alleviate pressures across the NHS system.