Establishing a Chinese older hip fracture registry for older patients: a Delphi study to define the focus and key variables for this registry.

A national hip fracture registry does not yet exist in China. This is the first to recommend a core variable set for the establishment of a Chinese national hip fracture registry. Thousands of Chinese hospitals will build on this and improve the quality of management for older hip fracture patients. The rapidly ageing population of China already experiences over half a million hip fractures every year. Many countries have developed national hip fracture registries to improve the quality of hip fracture management, but such a registry does not exist in China. The study is aimed at determining the core variables of a national hip fracture registry for older hip fracture patients in China. A rapid literature review was conducted to develop a preliminary pool of variables from existing global hip fracture registries. Two rounds of an e-Delphi survey were conducted with experts. The e-Delphi survey used a Likert 5-point scale and boundary value analysis to filter the preliminary pool of variables. The list of core variables was finalised following an online consensus meeting with the experts. Thirty-one experts participated. Most of the experts have senior titles and have worked in a corresponding area for more than 15 years. The response rate of the e-Delphi was 100% for both rounds. The preliminary pool of 89 variables was established after reviewing 13 national hip fracture registries. With two rounds of the e-Delphi and the expert consensus meeting, 86 core variables were recommended for inclusion in the registry. This study is the first to recommend a core variable set for the establishment of a Chinese national hip fracture registry. The further development of a registry to routinely collect data from thousands of hospitals will build on this work and improve the quality of management for older hip fracture patients in China.