Readiness to Implement the World Health Organization’s Integrated Care for Older People (ICOPE) Framework in Primary Health Care Settings in Nigeria: A Series of Focus Group Discussions

Readiness to Implement the World Health Organization’s Integrated Care for Older People (ICOPE) Framework in Primary Health Care Settings in Nigeria: A Series of Focus Group Discussions | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Readiness to Implement the World Health Organization’s Integrated Care for Older People (ICOPE) Framework in Primary Health Care Settings in Nigeria: A Series of Focus Group Discussions Lovina Victor Ibiok, Hanne Tuntland, Michel D. Landry This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7344648/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted 11 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background: In 2022, people aged 60 years and over, represented 4.7% of Nigeria’s population. This percentage of older adults is projected to triple by 2050. The World Health Organization has identified integrated care as one of the action areas within the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing, and the Integrated Care for Older Persons (ICOPE) is a framework recognized as a key initiative to address the complex issues surrounding care for older people. The study explored the human resource and policy readiness for implementation of ICOPE in primary healthcare setting in south-south Nigeria. Methods: Qualitative methodology, using focus group discussions (FGD), was used in the study. We conducted four interdisciplinary FDG with heads of primary healthcare facilities, directors of primary healthcare and management staff of state primary healthcare board. Results: A total of eighteen participants, within four separate FGD, participated in the study. Sixteen were female, and the majority were trained as nurse/midwives. Our analysis revealed that the primary human resource and policy challenges in the implementation of ICOPE in primary healthcare settings in Nigeria are the following: (1) workforce shortage/work-related stress, (2) need for further training, specialization and interprofessional collaboration, (3) underestimation of the importance and impact of care for older people, and finally (4) necessity for targeted resources and financing for care of older people. Our results highlight that there are important barriers and challenges that limit the implementation of ICOPE in the south-south region of Nigeria, which might further constrain the ability to effectively address the needs for the growing proportion of older persons. Conclusions: The findings provide insight into one of Nigeria’s regions, and its ability to implement WHO recommendations. Although speculative and beyond the scope of this study, other similar regions may face similar challenges at the implementation level. Our findings highlight the tension between establishing macro level policies such as the ICOPE, and the challenges of implementing such policies at the meso- and micro level in lower middle-income countries. These findings underscore the need for a collaborative approach between stakeholders to co-create a more age-friendly and accessible system for Nigeria's growing older population. Older people Primary healthcare Human resource Policy Integrated care Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files LVIFGDguide.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 22 May, 2026 Reviews received at journal 11 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 11 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 12 Jan, 2026 Reviews received at journal 09 Nov, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 28 Oct, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 22 Oct, 2025 Editor invited by journal 17 Oct, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 27 Aug, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 26 Aug, 2025 First submitted to journal 26 Aug, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7344648","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":538584657,"identity":"eccda97d-cc6d-47e8-9e8b-8f0d6f8a3f4e","order_by":0,"name":"Lovina Victor Ibiok","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Western Norway University of Applied Sciences","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Lovina","middleName":"Victor","lastName":"Ibiok","suffix":""},{"id":538584658,"identity":"e0cb1697-0c79-4dd8-bb12-964cda7ab830","order_by":1,"name":"Hanne Tuntland","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Western Norway University of Applied Sciences","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Hanne","middleName":"","lastName":"Tuntland","suffix":""},{"id":538584659,"identity":"08544c30-72df-4af3-b35e-0cfdf92df357","order_by":2,"name":"Michel D. 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The World Health Organization has identified integrated care as one of the action areas within the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing, and the Integrated Care for Older Persons (ICOPE) is a framework recognized as a key initiative to address the complex issues surrounding care for older people. The study explored the human resource and policy readiness for implementation of ICOPE in primary healthcare setting in south-south Nigeria. \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMethods:\u003c/strong\u003e Qualitative methodology, using focus group discussions (FGD), was used in the study.\u0026nbsp; We conducted four interdisciplinary FDG with heads of primary healthcare facilities, directors of primary healthcare and management staff of state primary healthcare board. \u0026nbsp; Results: A total of eighteen participants, within four separate FGD, participated in the study. 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