A Profile of Patients Undergoing Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment Though Irish; An Bhfuil Gaeilge Níos Fearr?

Abstract

Background The CSO 2022 reported that there were 1,873,997 Irish speakers in Ireland >3yrs of age. Of those, 71,968 speak the language daily. The highest proportion of those who speak Irish in Ireland live in the West of the country. Within our catchment area, we are able to provide an ANP led comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) in the Irish language. Methods The aim of this study was to characterise participants referred to an integrated care for older persons (ICPOP) service who had CGAs conducted in Irish from the period of September 2023 to April 2024 and to determine if the patients felt better represented if their CGA was conducted through Irish. Two questions were asked, 1. Do you prefer to have healthcare interaction through Irish? 2. Do you feel better represented by having had your CGA conducted in Irish? Results Over a six-month period 34 patients referred to ICPOP underwent CGA or review through the Irish language. 35.2% (n=12) had their CGA conducted at home. 23.5% (n=8) of those were referred for frailty, 23.5% falls (n=8) and 53% (n=18) for assessment of cognition. Of this cohort 32.3% (n=11) were female, had a median age of 81.5 years and a median clinical frailty score of 5 (range 3-7). The average age of education completion was 14.8yrs. 3% (n=1) had no literacy skills, 23.5% (n=8) had limited and 73.5% (n=25) had good literacy skills. 56% (n=19) gave feedback on their experience. For 23.5% (n=8) it strongly mattered that they had this option. For the remainder, they were indifferent, as they were fluent in both languages. Conclusion We identified that for a proportion of our patient cohort having CGA conducted through Irish was of importance. Ancillary benefits included better understanding of interventions such as deprescribing and brain health techniques when communicated through their primary language.