Assessing Frailty in Older Adults

The term frailty refers to physiological decline associated with older age (RACGP 2019). People who are frail are among the most vulnerable demographic, with their risk of adverse health outcomes being considerably increased (Walston 2023).

Frailty is a multidimensional state of health that occurs when a person’s physical and cognitive reserves decrease with age, leading to increased vulnerability and reduced resilience to acute illness, trauma and other stressors in comparison to younger and non-frail adults (Health.vic 2021; RACGP 2019).

However, while frailty is associated with the ageing process, frailty is not the same as older age, and it is not an inevitable part of ageing (RACGP 2019).

SIGNS:

• excessively fatigued
• unplanned weight loss
• frequent infections
• falls frequently/fear of falling
• cognitive changes
• fluctuating ability  to care for themselves that varies from day to day

IMPACTS:

• difficulty dealing with stressors eg. illness
• increased risk of falls
• increased risk of poor health outcomes
• increased risk of medication side effects
• longer stays in hospital
• increased risk of requiring residential care