IMPLEMENTATION OF THE WHO ICOPE PROGRAM
The Gerontopole of the Toulouse University Hospital, Collaborating Center of the World Health Organization, implements the ICOPE program in the Occitania region with the objective of assessing 200,000 seniors within 5 years and promoting healthy aging.
Lowering the number of dependent elderly people in the future is one of the economic and human challenges of our societies. The WHO ICOPE program was created to meet this need. It is a public health integrated care program for the elderly (from the age of 60) that requires the support and participation of professionals from the health, medico-social and social sectors as well as decision-makers for its implementation. The objective of this INSPIRE Care cohort, in conjunction with the Regional Team on Aging and Prevention of Dependency (ERVPD) part of the Toulouse University Hospital Gerontopole, with the support of the Health Regional Agency of Occitania, is to implement the ICOPE program in Occitania region and to screen about 200,000 seniors by 2024-2025 in this same area.
The WHO has identified so far 6 functions of an individual’s intrinsic capacity, which are essential for an healthy aging, and whose assessment is called the Step 1 of the ICOPE program:
Mobility, memory, nutrition, mood, sight and hearing.
In order to identify people at risk of dependancy or loss of autonomy, WHO created a screening tool called Step 1 of the ICOPE Program and their ICOPE app launched on 1 October 2019.
The Gerontopole uses this ICOPE application to carry out the first evaluation of the 6 functions of intrinsic capacity (Step 1). Then, to regularly monitor the evaluation of these 6 functions over time, the Toulouse Gerontopole developed the ICOPE MONITOR app.
The data filled into the ICOPE MONITOR application & Botfrail are directly collected in a secure healthcare database and in case of a loss or deterioration of a function, the system automatically generates an alert to the ICOPE telemonitoring center at the Gerontopole. Then the subject would be called by a nurse from the ERVPD to confirm or deny the loss of function.
With the agreement of the participant and if the functional loss or deterioration is proven, the referring physician receives an alert from the Gerontopole and can then implement the necessary actions to maintain autonomy as proposed by the WHO ICOPE program:
He will be able to propose a more in-depth evaluation, which constitutes the Step 2 of the WHO ICOPE program. This Step 2 can also be done by a specialized nurse trained in fragility and therefore in STEP 2 by the Gerontopole. Finally, the referring physician may rely on teleconsultation or tele-expertise when a geriatric opinion or other specialist opinion is required.
Here is the ICOPE handbook: guidance for person-centered assessment and pathways in primary care: ICOPE handbook
And the guidelines for ICOPE program systems and services: implementation framework
–Download the ICOPE MONITOR application :
-Some tutorials to guide you into using the ICOPE MONITOR application for health professionals or trained professionals (in French only):
