Journal of the American Medical Directors Association
August 4, 2026 · via Europe PMC
Community-Based ICOPE Screening Identifies Intrinsic Capacity Impairment and Supports Integrated Health and Social Care.
Merchant RA, Liu Y, Tan LF, +6 more, Vellas B.
AI summary — for doctors, generated from the abstract only
Community ICOPE screening in Singapore found most independent older adults had at least one impaired intrinsic capacity domain.
What was studied
A pragmatic prospective implementation study of 649 community-dwelling adults 60 or older screened with the WHO ICOPE pathway, followed by multidisciplinary review and referral.
Key findings
- 81.5% had impairment in at least one domain; 55.5% had multidomain impairment
- Vitality (46.8%), vision (38.2%) and cognitive (37.4%) impairment were common
- Risk profiles varied across sites
Clinical relevance
Functional decline can be identified early in seemingly independent older adults.
Who should care
Limitations
It is descriptive in a self-selected community sample, with no outcome data showing benefit.
Screen older adults for intrinsic capacity domains such as vitality, vision and cognition, and link impairments to services.
This is an AI-generated summary of the published abstract, not a clinical recommendation. It may not reflect the full text or subsequent updates — verify against the original source before acting on it.
Abstract
Objectives
Preserving intrinsic capacity (IC) and delaying functional decline are central goals of the World Health Organization (WHO) Decade of Healthy Aging (2021-2030). We evaluated the implementation of a WHO Integrated Care for Older People (ICOPE) aligned pathway within routine community systems and described the prevalence and pattern of IC impairment among community-dwelling older adults.
Design
Pragmatic prospective multisite implementation study.
Setting and participants
Community-dwelling adults aged ≥60 years who were robust or prefrail, recruited through routine activities and outreach at active aging centers and community centers in Singapore.
Methods
Participants underwent step 1 ICOPE screening and step 2 IC assessment across 6 domains, followed by geriatrician-led multidisciplinary review, risk stratification, individualized care planning, structured referral, and longitudinal follow-up embedded within routine workflows. Descriptive analyses summarized participant characteristics, IC impairment, risk distribution, and referral patterns.
Results
Over 9 months, 649 community-dwelling older adults completed IC screening and assessment. Overall, 81.5% had impairment in at least 1 IC domain and 55.5% had multidomain impairment despite preserved functional independence. Vitality (46.8%), cognitive (37.4%), and vision impairments (38.2%) were most prevalent, with variation in risk profiles observed across community sites. Multidisciplinary review enabled risk stratification and linkage to community, primary care, and social services.
Conclusions and implications
Community-based implementation of the WHO ICOPE pathway within routine systems is feasible and identified substantial multidomain IC impairment among otherwise independent older adults. Variation across sites highlights the need for context-specific service planning and targeted resource allocation. Embedding IC screening within community platforms, with coordinated referral pathways, supports earlier identification and management of functional decline and advances integrated health and social care for aging populations.
DOI
10.1016/j.jamda.2026.106414
PMID
42551140
Research metadata (titles, abstracts, authors, publication dates) is sourced from Europe PMC, which aggregates content from PubMed/MEDLINE, PubMed Central, and other providers under the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM/NCBI). NLM does not claim copyright on abstracts; the original journal publishers or authors may hold rights to the full articles. AI-generated summaries are derived only from the abstract, never the full text, and are always labeled as AI-generated.
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