Teaching Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) in medical education: a scoping review

Purpose: To gather and summarize evidence on educational and training formats for medical doctors in performing Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) in under- and postgraduate medical education. Methods: A comprehensive literature review was conducted using the databases Medline, CINAHL, Cochrane and Embase to identify educational intervention studies and cohort studies related to CGA education and training for medical professionals. Additional references were incorporated through reference tracking. Studies included were then grouped according to competence level addressed during CGA trainings to create a current competence-based framework on educational tools to teach CGA to medical students and doctors. Results: Sixty eligible studies were identified, with 42 addressing the full implementation of CGA and 18 focusing on specific CGA domains. High variability in duration, intervention design and evaluation methods was consistently observed across the included studies. Conclusion: The findings underscore the need for further coordinated research in CGA education and training to consolidate evidence and pave the way to more innovative, high-quality healthcare systems capable of addressing the complexities of an aging society.