Research group Geriatric medicine

Aims

1. We aim at filling the most relevant knowledge gaps on mental and physical resilience in a clinical perspective.
2. We will study measuring Resilience and develop and validate a resilience measurement framework taking.
3. We will study how to best manage, monitor and improve physical and mental resilience.

• We aim at filling the most relevant knowledge gaps on mental and physical resilience in a clinical perspective:

  • How are systems across multiple spatial and temporal scales involved in the emergence of resilience of aging humans against health stressors?
  • How does resilience come about?
  • How are human systemic resilience and subsystem resiliencies related?
  • How do physical and cognitive resilience relate?
  • How do resilienc(ies) in different organ systems and the person as a whole change across the aging life span?
  • What is the relation of resilience with type, intensity and timing of stressors?
  • How to quantify the intensity of a stressor?
  • How is the resilience of the older individual related to the resilience of the social system (family)?
  • Is lack of resilience a valid marker of closeness of dying and can it be used to add value in palliative care.

• We will study and improve measuring resilience. We will develop and validate a resilience measurement framework taking into account:

  • Stressor (type and intensity)
  • Outcome (trajectory): multidimensional
  • Predictors
  • Multidimensional
  • Structure of system: static indicators of resilience, e.g., frailty
  • Process/function operated by system: dynamic indicators of resilience
  • What are valid bio-, psycho- and system markers of high and low resilience, which may be valid in clinical decision making?

• We will study how to best manage, monitor and improve physical and mental resilience. We will develop, implement and evaluate a resilience management framework:

  • Triage & clinical decision support systems
  • Actively support resource (recruitment) available for resilience
  • Integrate with prehabilitation and (geriatric) rehabilitation support programmes for better targeting
  • Teaching and training programmes for a sustainable and resilient healthcare system

Publications

See the publication list of the research group leader on Web of Science.