Interprofessional geriatric competencies in the DACH region (Germany, Austria and Switzerland) : Insights from a multinational multilingual open online survey.

Abstract

Background: Geriatric care requires coordinated, interprofessional and person-centered approaches; however, geriatric competencies among healthcare professionals (HCP) vary considerably across Europe, and only limited data are available for the DACH (D: Deutschland, Germany; A: Austria; CH: Confoederatio Helvetica, Switzerland) region.

Objectives: To investigate self-perceived knowledge, relevance and interest regarding key geriatric topics and skills among HCPs in the DACH region and to compare findings with other European countries.

Material and methods: Secondary data analyses of the PROGRAMMING COST Action 21122 online survey. The DACH responses (n = 291) were compared with those from other European countries (n = 5134) and 33 geriatric topics and skills were analyzed to identify educational priorities.

Results: The HCPs working in the DACH region rated their perceived geriatric knowledge higher than HCPs working in other European countries. Nevertheless, substantial perceived knowledge gaps remained, particularly in the areas of dementia, depression, chronic pain, cognitive screening and sarcopenia. Perceived relevance and interest in further education exceeded self-assessed knowledge levels. In contrast, topics such as oncogeriatrics, gerodontology and geriatric emergency care were assigned lower priority.

Conclusion: Despite overall high self-perceived competence, important gaps persist, especially in complex, interdisciplinary areas. Continuing education needs appear to be strongly influenced by clinical practice and system structures. Given the large number of medical doctors in our data, some implications are intraprofessional; nevertheless, targeted competency-based cross-professional educational initiatives and frameworks are needed to strengthen geriatric care and support workforce mobility across Europe.