article · BMC Geriatrics
As Morocco's population ages, Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment is recognised as valuable for detecting frailty and tailoring cancer care for older adults. An exploratory qualitative study examining the views of fifteen medical specialists in oncology, haematology, and geriatrics revealed that while clinicians view the assessment as essential, it is rarely implemented in clinical practice. Key challenges include insufficient training, limited familiarity with assessment tools, and the difficulty of evaluating seven core domains without a specialised multidisciplinary team. Complex patient profiles marked by malnutrition, comorbidities, and compromised general health further complicate care. Effectively embedding this approach into the national healthcare setting will require the development of standardised clinical tools, dedicated training programmes for healthcare professionals, and expanded access to specialised geriatric services.
Older patients with cancer often live with frailty, poor nutrition, and other chronic illnesses, making standard cancer treatments difficult to tolerate. Identifying the practical barriers that prevent doctors from thoroughly assessing these risks allows healthcare systems to introduce targeted training and better care models, ensuring older patients receive treatments tailored to their overall physical condition.
This early-stage exploratory research points to an unmet operational need for standardised geriatric assessment toolkits, digital clinical decision-support systems, and professional training modules tailored to oncology teams in Morocco. Medical software developers and healthcare education providers could design solutions to streamline multidimensional assessments, though real-world uptake remains dependent on overcoming institutional staffing constraints and establishing dedicated multidisciplinary teams.
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In the context of Morocco’s progressively aging population, Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) plays a major role in the early detection of frailty among older patients with cancer and in adapting care to their specific needs. The objectives of this study were to assess the current knowledge, perceptions and practices of Moroccan medical specialists (oncologists, hematologists, and geriatricians) regarding the use of CGA in the oncological care of older patients, to explore the gaps between its recognized value and its actual clinical integration, and to identify the barriers and facilitators to its implementation in order to propose an operational model adapted to Morocco’s specific health, sociocultural, and economic context. A multicenter exploratory qualitative study was conducted among 15 medical specialists in oncology, hematology, and geriatrics through in-depth, semi-structured individual interviews. Data from the interview notes were managed and analyzed using an interpretive description approach. Deductive thematic analysis revealed the complexity of managing older cancer patients, influenced by impaired general health status, comorbidities, and malnutrition. CGA is rarely implemented, although most physicians consider it essential. Many reported limited familiarity with specific CGA tools due to insufficient training. Assessment of the seven key domains is perceived as necessary but remains difficult to apply in practice. Implementation requires a specialized multidisciplinary team to ensure appropriate patient-centered care. The study highlights the importance of promoting CGA in oncology in Morocco, while considering existing organizational and structural constraints. Developing specialized training, ensuring the availability of a standardized tool, and improving access to geriatric services are essential to achieve more appropriate care for older patients.
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DOI: 10.1186/s12877-026-08213-z
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