Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2010 Feb 9;7(1):37-55.
doi: 10.1007/s10433-010-0141-9. eCollection 2010 Mar.

Interventions to prevent disability in frail community-dwelling older persons: an overview

Ramon Daniels  1   2   3 , Silke Metzelthin  4 , Erik van Rossum  2   3   4 , Luc de Witte  3   4 , Wim van den Heuvel  4
Affiliations
Review

Interventions to prevent disability in frail community-dwelling older persons: an overview

Ramon Daniels et al. Eur J Ageing. .

Abstract

This narrative review was conducted to provide an overview of the variety of interventions aimed at disability prevention in community-dwelling frail older persons and to summarize promising elements. The search strategy and selection process found 48 papers that met the inclusion criteria. The 49 interventions described in these 48 papers were categorized into 'comprehensive geriatric assessment', 'physical exercise', 'nutrition', 'technology', and 'other interventions'. There is a large diversity within and between the groups of interventions in terms of content, disciplines involved, duration, intensity, and setting. For 18 of the 49 interventions, significant positive effects for disability were reported for the experimental group. Promising features of interventions seem to be: multidisciplinary and multifactorial, individualized assessment and intervention, case management, long-term follow-up, physical exercise component (for moderate physically frail older persons), and the use of technology. Future intervention studies could combine these elements and consider the addition of new elements.

Keywords: Activities of daily living; Disability prevention; Frail older persons; Frailty; Review.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Progress of search for relevant trials
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Aminzadeh F, Dalziel W, Molnar F. Targeting frail older adults for outpatient comprehensive geriatric assessment and management services: an overview of concepts and criteria. Rev Clin Gerontol. 2002;12:82–92. doi: 10.1017/S0959259802121101. - DOI
    1. Avlund K. Disability in old age. Longitudinal population-based studies of the disablement process. Dan Med Bull. 2004;51:315–349. - PubMed
    1. *Beck A, Scott J, Williams P, Robertson B, Jackson D, Gade G, Cowan P. A randomized trial of group outpatient visits for chronically ill older HMO members: the Cooperative Health Care Clinic. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1997;45:543–549. - PubMed
    1. *Bernabei R, Landi F, Gambassi G, Sgadari A, Zuccala G, Mor V, Rubenstein LZ, Carbonin P. Randomised trial of impact of model of integrated care and case management for older people living in the community. BMJ. 1998;316:1348–1351. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Beswick AD, Rees K, Dieppe P, Ayis S, Gooberman-Hill R, Horwood J, Ebrahim S. Complex interventions to improve physical function and maintain independent living in older persons people: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet. 2008;371:725–735. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(08)60342-6. - DOI - PMC - PubMed