GERI researchers share implementation research findings at scientific conferences

13 August 2024

Graphic titled 'Sharing Our Research' showcasing GERI researchers presenting their scientific work at conferences

GERI believes in sharing its findings with knowledge users and stakeholders to promote healthy ageing for our population in Singapore. From April to June this year, two GERI researchers presented their implementation research strategies at global conferences.

In April, Research Associate Dr Mimaika Ginting was in Belfast, Northern Ireland to fly the flag for GERI’s research on healthy ageing at the 24th International Conference on Integrated Care. Dr Ginting’s poster shared a study done in support of INFINITY-ICOPE, a research project focused on the implementation of the World Health Organization’s Integrated Care for Older People (ICOPE) framework.

Supported by the National Innovation Challenge on Active and Confident Ageing, INFINITY-ICOPE employs a community-based intervention that screens for frailty and intrinsic capacity.

For a healthcare innovation to succeed in real-world settings, context matters. Dr Ginting outlined preliminary findings on anticipated barriers and facilitators for INFINITY-ICOPE’s roll-out, which were elicited from perspectives and experiences of healthcare workers and community partners on the ground.

“Early stakeholder engagement creates the opportunity for us to refine implementation strategies to address indentified barriers prior to carrying out the programme.“
- Dr Mimaika Ginting, Research Associate

Research Associate Penny Lun visited Christchurch, New Zealand in May to represent GERI at the Australian & New Zealand Society for Geriatric Medicine Annual Scientific Meeting 2024.

Ms Lun’s poster presentation highlighted the novel way of using the Knowledge-To-Action model to pioneer a national framework to guide how advance care planning (ACP) is carried out in Singapore.

Set to be finalised later this year, the framework is the culmination of efforts by the ACP Quality Implementation (AQI) Knowledge Exchange Platform convened by GERI, in collaboration with the Agency of Integrated Care, to improve ACP adoption in real-world settings. Read more here.

“We adopted implementation science methodology that emphasises engaging stakeholders such as ACP facilitators and healthcare professionals from the beginning. This enhances the framework's relevance, applicability, and sustainability in real-world practice, which will hopefully pave the way for greater ACP implementation.“
- Ms Penny Lun, Research Associate