Implications for research and practice

• ■ Comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) is associated with improved functional and mortality outcomes for hospitalised older adults.

• ■ The benefits of CGA are more predominate in dedicated wards, as compared with CGA mobile teams.

• ■ Future research should focus on methods of identifying older adults most likely to benefit from CGA and delineating the roles of acute and stepdown models of CGA.

Context

As the number of older adults continues to rise at an unprecedented rate globally, older patients represent the core consumer of acute care services. The physical, psychological and social complexity of the critically ill older adults' demand a multi-disciplinary, function-focused approach to assessment and clinical management. CGAs provide this approach through mobile multi-disciplinary teams or through dedicated geographic units.