Knowledge, awareness, beliefs, attitudes, current practices, and perceptions of responsibility to the identification and management of sarcopenia among Australian general practitioners and practice nurses: A national survey.

OBJECTIVE

To explore Australian general practitioners' (GPs) and practice nurses' (PNs) awareness, understanding, knowledge, beliefs, attitudes current practices, perceptions of responsibility, confidence, barriers and enablers to identification and management of sarcopenia.

METHODS

A national, anonymous 33-item, online purpose-designed survey covering the topics in the aims was conducted from March-May 2024.

RESULTS

1364 participants (97 % GPs, 62 % female) participated. Two-thirds were familiar with sarcopenia and recognised it included low muscle mass (89 %), strength (66 %) and function (53 %), but 35 % incorrectly identified low physical fitness. Knowledge on common signs/symptoms, risk factors, consequences, and treatments was generally high, but only 10-18 % recognised stiff/inflexible muscles, cramps and persistent muscle pain are not signs/symptoms, and only 9-12 % recognised any form or aerobic exercise and eating more fruits/vegetables are ineffective treatments. Most (>80 %) believed they should play an active role in sarcopenia identification/treatment, but only 23 % screened/assessed for it. Most indicated education (90 %) and screening/assessment (86 %) should be prioritized in primary care, but lack of priority (68 %), time (47 %) and confidence/knowledge (23 %) were obstacles to address sarcopenia in practice. Lack of referral options and access to appropriate tools were key barriers and protocol implementation and access to relevant training were the main enablers to identification/treatment.

CONCLUSION

Primary care clinicians in Australia are familiar with and have some intuitive understanding of, and positive attitudes/beliefs toward sarcopenia, recognising they should play a key role in identifying/managing it, but report it's not a priority, they lack knowledge, confidence, referral options, appropriate tools and time to address it in practice.