Overview
Background
Ruth E. Hubbard is a Consultant Geriatrician at the Princess Alexandra Hospital and in October 2020 was appointed as the Masonic Chair of Geriatric Medicine at the University of Queensland.
She qualified from St Mary’s Hospital Medical School in London and trained in general internal medicine and geriatric medicine in Cardiff, Wales. As a clinical academic, she has always combined hospital practice with research and teaching. She has completed an MSc in Medical Education, an MD on pathophysiological changes in frail older people and a post-doctoral fellowship in Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia with Professor Ken Rockwood. Here, she was able to test hypotheses regarding the determinants and manifestations of frailty through the interrogation of large datasets. She has published widely on the inflammatory aetiology of frailty, the difficulties of measuring frailty in clinical practice and the relationships between frailty and obesity, smoking, socioeconomic status and exercise. Based on the impact of her publications, she is currently ranked number 4 in a list of frailty experts worldwide (http://expertscape.com/ex/frail+elderly).
In the last 5 years, she has generated $24.5M in grant income including as CIA on the following: MRFF Dementia Ageing and Aged Care Mission ($5M), a Centre for Research Excellence in Frailty ($2.5M), an Ideas Grant ($1.6M) and the NHMRC Targeted Call for Frailty Research ($1.5M). As Founder and Director of the Australia Frailty Network (AFN), she has established a team of consumer partners, multidisciplinary clinical academics, behavioural psychologists and statisticians answering critical questions relating to the measurement and management of frailty.
Availability
- Professor Ruth Hubbard is:
- Available for supervision
- Media expert
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Bachelor of Medicine Surgery, Imperial College
- Masters (Coursework) of Science, Cardiff University
- Doctoral Diploma of Medicine, Cardiff University
- Bachelor of Science, Imperial College
Research interests
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The Australian Frailty Network
The Australian Frailty Network (AFN) was established in 2023 to address frailty across the Australian population. This pioneering initiative integrates research, education, policy advocacy, and practice into a cohesive strategy to improve health outcomes for people living with frailty. This research is funded by an MRFF Dementia Ageing and Aged Care Grant ($5M) Funding period: 2022 - 2027 Role: Lead, Chief Investigator A
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FITTEST Trial
The AFN’s flagship clinical trial FITTEST will test if a multi-domain approach to the care of mildly frail older adults will be better than a self-directed program in attenuating the progress of frailty. The trial aims to recruit 390 participants from geriatric medicine clinics across Australia. Ethics approval was obtained in early November, with the first participant expected to be randomised in July 2024.
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Derivation, Validation and Implementation of a Digital Frailty Index for Acute Care Settings in Queensland
Older people in hospital are at high risk of adverse outcomes, a vulnerability commonly referred to as frailty. In community-dwelling older people, frailty status can be measured precisely with a Frailty Index score. We are currently leading a research programme to develop a Frailty Index from hospital electronic medical records. This would assist clinicians to identify vulnerable older inpatients, improving their care in the acute setting. This research is funded by an NHMRC Partnership Grant ($1.5M) with Queensland Health Funding period: 2024 - 2029 Role: Lead, Chief Investigator A
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The ReFIT Study: Reversing Frailty through Transplantation
This program will provide new insights into the causes of frailty by comparing biological data in older people who are frail, with younger people before and after a kidney transplant. The study is a collaboration between several clinical units at the Princess Alexandra Hospital (PAH) and aims to recruit 100 transplant candidates from the PAH Kidney Transplant Service, and 50 older participants from PAH outpatient clinics. This research is funded by an NHMRC Ideas Grant ($1.6M) Funding period: 2023 - 2026 Role: Lead, Chief Investigator A
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Frailty ADD: Improving Hospital Outcomes for Frail Patients Across Different Disciplines
This Centre of Research Excellence unites four nodes (in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth) where Australia's strongest academic geriatricians have partnered with discipline experts to build clinical and research programs. lt will investigate the relationship between frailty, medication utilisation and global health outcomes and develop a core outcome set of patient-important outcomes that can be used for all frailty research in any discipline. This new knowledge will be transferred to policy and practice by championing practice change initiatives, piloting implementation studies across different disciplines that will be nested in our Frailty Research and Translation Framework and providing frailty education and training for health care professionals. The CRE will establish a cutting-edge capacity building scaffold to train the next generation of health and medical researchers with the potential to become leaders in their fields. This research is funded by an NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence ($2.5M) with additional strategic funding from UQ ($500k) Funding period: 2022 - 2027 Role: Lead, Chief Investigator A
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The GOAL Trial
This cluster randomised controlled trial will test whether Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment by a geriatrician can help frail older patients with CKD improve their health and wellbeing and achieve their own goals. Uniting geriatricians and nephrologists in a cross-disciplinary collaboration for the first time at 15 hospital sites across Australia, the last participant was recruited mid-2023. Follow up is for 12 months and results will be reported in 2025. This research is funded by an NHMRC Targeted Call for Research ($1.6M) Funding period: 2020 - 2025 Role: Lead, Chief Investigator A
Works
Search Professor Ruth Hubbard’s works on UQ eSpace
2023
Journal Article
Social frailty in late adulthood: social cognitive and psychological wellbeing correlates
Henry, Julie D., Coundouris, Sarah P., Mead, Jessica, Thompson, Brielle, Hubbard, Ruth E. and Grainger, Sarah A. (2023). Social frailty in late adulthood: social cognitive and psychological wellbeing correlates. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 78 (1), 87-96. doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbac157
2023
Journal Article
Understanding how comprehensive geriatric assessment works: the importance of varied methodological approaches
Fox, Sarah T., Janda, Monika and Hubbard, Ruth (2023). Understanding how comprehensive geriatric assessment works: the importance of varied methodological approaches. Aging Clinical and Experimental Research, 35 (2), 417-423. doi: 10.1007/s40520-022-02305-7
2023
Book Chapter
Frailty in the perioperative setting for cancer patients
Lin, Hui-Shan, Reid, Natasha and Hubbard, Ruth E. (2023). Frailty in the perioperative setting for cancer patients. Perioperative care of the cancer patient. (pp. 396-408) edited by Carin Hagberg, Vijaya Gottumukkala, Berhard Riedel, Joseph Nates and Donal Buggy. Philadelphia, PA USA: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-323-69584-8.00035-9
2022
Journal Article
Comparison of a multidomain frailty index from routine health data with the hospital frailty risk score in older patients in an Australian hospital
Fujita, Kenji, Lo, Sarita Y., Hubbard, Ruth E., Gnjidic, Danijela and Hilmer, Sarah N. (2022). Comparison of a multidomain frailty index from routine health data with the hospital frailty risk score in older patients in an Australian hospital. Australasian Journal on Ageing, 42 (3), 480-490. doi: 10.1111/ajag.13162
2022
Journal Article
Frailty and solid-organ transplant candidates: a scoping review
Kao, Jonathan, Reid, Natasha, Hubbard, Ruth E., Homes, Ryan, Hanjani, Leila Shafiee, Pearson, Ella, Logan, Benignus, King, Shannon, Fox, Sarah and Gordon, Emily H (2022). Frailty and solid-organ transplant candidates: a scoping review. BMC Geriatrics, 22 (1) 864, 864. doi: 10.1186/s12877-022-03485-7
2022
Journal Article
What do geriatricians think about Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment? A survey of Australian and New Zealand geriatricians
Fox, Sarah, Reid, Natasha, Gordon, Emily H., Janda, Monika and Hubbard, Ruth E. (2022). What do geriatricians think about Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment? A survey of Australian and New Zealand geriatricians. Australasian Journal on Ageing, 42 (1), 127-139. doi: 10.1111/ajag.13145
2022
Journal Article
Sex-specific interventions to prevent and manage frailty
Reid, Natasha, Young, Adrienne, Hanjani, Leila Shafiee, Hubbard, Ruth E. and Gordon, Emily H. (2022). Sex-specific interventions to prevent and manage frailty. Maturitas, 164, 23-30. doi: 10.1016/j.maturitas.2022.05.012
2022
Journal Article
The impact of frailty on health outcomes in older adults with lung cancer: a systematic review
Fletcher, James, Fox, Sarah, Reid, Natasha, Hubbard, Ruth E. and Ladwa, Rahul (2022). The impact of frailty on health outcomes in older adults with lung cancer: a systematic review. Cancer Treatment and Research Communications, 33 100652, 1-10. doi: 10.1016/j.ctarc.2022.100652
2022
Journal Article
A whole-of-health system approach to improving care of frail older persons
Whiting, Elizabeth, Scott, Ian A., Hines, Laureen, Ward, Tamara, Burkett, Ellen, Cranitch, Erin, Mudge, Alison, Reymond, Elizabeth, Taylor, Andrea and Hubbard, Ruth E. (2022). A whole-of-health system approach to improving care of frail older persons. Australian Health Review, 46 (5), 629-634. doi: 10.1071/AH22170
2022
Journal Article
Frailty is associated with cognitive decline independent of cerebral small vessel disease and brain atrophy
Siejka, Timothy P., Srikanth, Velandai K., Hubbard, Ruth E., Moran, Chris, Beare, Richard, Wood, Amanda G., Collyer, Taya A., Gujjari, Siddhanth, Phan, Thanh G. and Callisaya, Michele L. (2022). Frailty is associated with cognitive decline independent of cerebral small vessel disease and brain atrophy. The Journals of Gerontology: Series A, 77 (9), 1819-1826. doi: 10.1093/gerona/glac078
2022
Journal Article
Frailty: understanding the difference between age and ageing
Gordon, Emily H. and Hubbard, Ruth E. (2022). Frailty: understanding the difference between age and ageing. Age and Ageing, 51 (8) afac185, 1-6. doi: 10.1093/ageing/afac185
2022
Journal Article
A systematic review of frailty education programs for health care professionals
Warren, Nicola, Gordon, Emily, Pearson, Ella, Siskind, Dan, Hilmer, Sarah N., Etherton‐Beer, Christopher, Shafiee Hanjani, Leila, Young, Adrienne M., Reid, Natasha and Hubbard, Ruth E. (2022). A systematic review of frailty education programs for health care professionals. Australasian Journal on Ageing, 41 (4), e310-e319. doi: 10.1111/ajag.13096
2022
Journal Article
Frailty and Treatment-Resistant Schizophrenia: A Retrospective Cohort Study
Pearson, Ella, Siskind, Dan, Hubbard, Ruth, Gordon, Emily, Coulson, Elizabeth, Arnautovska, Urska and Warren, Nicola (2022). Frailty and Treatment-Resistant Schizophrenia: A Retrospective Cohort Study. Community Mental Health Journal, 59 (1), 1-5. doi: 10.1007/s10597-022-00998-8
2022
Journal Article
Goal attainment scaling as an outcome measure for randomised controlled trials: a scoping review
Logan, Benignus, Jegatheesan, Dev, Viecelli, Andrea, Pascoe, Elaine and Hubbard, Ruth (2022). Goal attainment scaling as an outcome measure for randomised controlled trials: a scoping review. BMJ Open, 12 (7) e063061, 1-9. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-063061
2022
Conference Publication
Mental health diagnoses, frailty, and outcomes in a large cohort of Australian inpatients
Baral, S., Reid, N., Siskind, D., Warren, N., Gordon, E. and Hubbard, R. (2022). Mental health diagnoses, frailty, and outcomes in a large cohort of Australian inpatients. The Australian and New Zealand Society for Geriatric Medicine Annual Scientific Meeting 2022, Perth, WA Australia, 8 - 10 June 2022. Richmond, VIC Australia: John Wiley & Sons.
2022
Journal Article
A multimodal intervention to optimise antimicrobial use in residential aged care facilities (ENGAGEMENT): protocol for a stepped-wedge cluster randomised trial
Falconer, Nazanin, Paterson, David L., Peel, Nancye, Welch, Alyssa, Freeman, Christopher, Burkett, Ellen, Hubbard, Ruth, Comans, Tracy, Hanjani, Leila Shafiee, Pascoe, Elaine, Hawley, Carmel and Gray, Leonard (2022). A multimodal intervention to optimise antimicrobial use in residential aged care facilities (ENGAGEMENT): protocol for a stepped-wedge cluster randomised trial. Trials, 23 (1) 427. doi: 10.1186/s13063-022-06323-8
2022
Journal Article
An interRAI derived frailty index predicts acute hospitalizations in older adults residing in retirement villages: a prospective cohort study
Bloomfield, Katherine, Wu, Zhenqiang, Tatton, Annie, Calvert, Cheryl, Peel, Nancye, Hubbard, Ruth, Jamieson, Hamish, Hikaka, Joanna, Boyd, Michal, Bramley, Dale and Connolly, Martin J. (2022). An interRAI derived frailty index predicts acute hospitalizations in older adults residing in retirement villages: a prospective cohort study. PLoS One, 17 (3) e0264715, e0264715. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0264715
2022
Journal Article
Effect of a ward-based program on hospital-associated complications and length of stay for older inpatients: The Cluster Randomized CHERISH Trial
Mudge, Alison M., Mcrae, Prue, Banks, Merrilyn, Blackberry, Irene, Barrimore, Sally, Endacott, John, Graves, Nicholas, Green, Theresa, Harvey, Gill, Hubbard, Ruth, Kurrle, Sue, Lim, Wen Kwang, Lee-Steere, Karen, Masel, Phil, Pandy, Shaun, Young, Adrienne, Barnett, Adrian and Inouye, Sharon K. (2022). Effect of a ward-based program on hospital-associated complications and length of stay for older inpatients: The Cluster Randomized CHERISH Trial. JAMA Internal Medicine, 182 (3), 274-282. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2021.7556
2022
Journal Article
Frailty and severe mental illness: A systematic review and narrative synthesis
Pearson, Ella, Siskind, Dan, Hubbard, Ruth E., Gordon, Emily H., Coulson, Elizabeth and Warren, Nicola (2022). Frailty and severe mental illness: A systematic review and narrative synthesis. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 147, 166-175. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2022.01.014
2022
Journal Article
Where next with frailty risk scores in hospital populations?
Hilmer, Sarah and Hubbard, Ruth E. (2022). Where next with frailty risk scores in hospital populations?. Age and Ageing, 51 (1) afab203. doi: 10.1093/ageing/afab203
Funding
Current funding
Supervision
Availability
- Professor Ruth Hubbard is:
- Available for supervision
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Supervision history
Current supervision
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Doctor Philosophy
Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment: How does it work and what are the key active ingredients?
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Monika Janda
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Doctor Philosophy
Frailty and Goals of Care in Older People Living with Moderate to Severe Chronic Kidney Disease
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Andrea Viecelli
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Doctor Philosophy
Improving emergency care for older people
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Frederick Graham
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Doctor Philosophy
Addressing Frailty in Older Adults with Solid Organ Malignancies
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Natasha Reid
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Doctor Philosophy
Frailty and goals of care in older people living with moderate to severe chronic kidney disease
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Andrea Viecelli
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Doctor Philosophy
Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment: How does it work and what are the key active ingredients?
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Monika Janda
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Doctor Philosophy
Organ transplantation and frailty
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Emily Gordon, Professor Mark Morrison
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Doctor Philosophy
CHAMP: a co-creation of a comprehensive health assessment and management plan for younger people with schizophrenia spectrum disorders
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Emily Gordon, Dr Kristiana Ludlow
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Doctor Philosophy
Addressing frailty in older people with haematological malignancies
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Peter Mollee, Associate Professor Emily Gordon, Dr Natasha Reid
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Doctor Philosophy
Frailty and Goals of Care in Older People with Moderate to Severe Chronic Kidney Disease
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Andrea Viecelli
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Doctor Philosophy
Improving emergency care for older people
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Frederick Graham
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Doctor Philosophy
Sleepless in the GARU?
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Adrienne Young, Associate Professor Claire Ellender
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Doctor Philosophy
A life course approach to frailty: its biopsychosocial determinants and impact on dementia and other ageing-related outcomes
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Emily Gordon, Dr David Ward
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Doctor Philosophy
Organ transplantation as a model for reversible frailty (ReFIT): robustness and resilience.
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Ross Francis, Professor Mark Midwinter, Associate Professor Emily Gordon
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Master Philosophy
Sleepless in the geriatric rehabilitation unit?
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Adrienne Young, Associate Professor Claire Ellender
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Master Philosophy
Pharyngolaryngectomies: reconstructive options, short and long-term patient outcomes, and the impact of pre-operative frailty
Associate Advisor
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Doctor Philosophy
Core outcomes in frail inpatients.
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Emily Gordon, Dr Kristiana Ludlow
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Doctor Philosophy
Understanding sex differences in cognitive impairment and dementia to design targeted interventions
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Natasha Reid, Associate Professor Emily Gordon, Dr David Ward
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Doctor Philosophy
Outcomes of importance to frail older vascular surgery patients and their caregivers.
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Natasha Reid, Dr Kristiana Ludlow, Associate Professor Emily Gordon
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Doctor Philosophy
Analysis of Microcirculatory Health Measures and Frailty in Potential Renal Transplant Recipients: A Machine Learning Approach
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Emily Gordon, Professor Mark Midwinter
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Doctor Philosophy
Analysis of Microcirculatory Health Measures and Frailty in Potential Renal Transplant Recipients: A Machine Learning Approach
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Emily Gordon, Professor Mark Midwinter
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Doctor Philosophy
The development, validation and implementation of an electronic frailty index (eFI)
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr David Ward
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Doctor Philosophy
Outcomes of importance to frail older vascular surgery patients and their caregivers.
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Natasha Reid, Dr Kristiana Ludlow, Associate Professor Emily Gordon
Completed supervision
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2023
Doctor Philosophy
Increasing Adherence for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) Usage in Vulnerable Australian Populations with Sleep Apnoea.
Principal Advisor
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2020
Doctor Philosophy
Sex differences in frailty: The Frailty Index and the male-female health-survival paradox.
Principal Advisor
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2019
Master Philosophy
Gait speed and frailty status in relation to adverse outcomes in geriatric rehabilitation
Principal Advisor
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2018
Master Philosophy
Frailty Index and Peri-operative Outcome
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Len Gray
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2025
Doctor Philosophy
Analysis of Microcirculatory Health Measures and Frailty in Potential Renal Transplant Recipients: A Machine Learning Approach
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Emily Gordon, Professor Mark Midwinter
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2015
Doctor Philosophy
Optimising prescribing in frail older people
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Lisa Nissen
Media
Enquiries
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