Understanding barriers and facilitators to implementation of consensus-based recommendations for the management of very old people in intensive care

Background: Recent consensus-based recommendations on the management of people aged ≥80 years in intensive care units (ICUs) were developed to guide the management of quality care. Objective: To understand perceived barriers and facilitators to consensus-based recommendations to support their implementation into multi-professional and disciplinary clinical practice. Methods: Analysis of comments made by an international multiprofessional group of intensive care, emergency and geriatric medicine specialists in the Delphi consensus on the management of people aged ≥80 years in ICUs. Barrier and facilitators were analysed using the Theoretical Domains Framework. Results: Care statement comments were provided by 99 of the 124 (79.8%) participants completing the Delphi first round; primarily identifying barriers (239/258; 92.6%). Most participants identified limitations in the environmental context and resources within the healthcare system (152, 63.6%); predominantly limitations in resources/material resources, with staffing (60, 25.1%), and beds or facilities (30, 12.6%) concerns. Potentially modifiable domains focused on inadequate knowledge (25, 10.5%), beliefs about consequences (18, 7.5%), care goals (16, 6.7%) and social/professional role and identity (16, 6.7%). Facilitators focused on improving staff knowledge, particularly amongst geriatric medicine and intensive care medicine specialities, and environmental context and resources (both 8, 42.1%). Conclusions: The environmental context and resources domain was the most common barrier identified. Behaviour change opportunities are centred on the domains knowledge, beliefs about consequences, goals and social/professional role and identity. Linked behaviour change techniques can be identified and developed according to local healthcare context to support implementation of care recommendations.