Frailty in a Post-Acute Care Population: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Frailty is a complex and growing phenomenon facing health care providers throughout the continuum of care. Frailty is not well understood in post-acute care (PAC) settings. The purpose of this scoping review was to summarize current evidence of frailty impact on outcomes and frailty mitigation initiatives in PAC. Three major publication databases were searched from January 2000 to June 2017 that identified 18 articles specifically addressing frailty in PAC. Three themes were identified: scales used to measure frailty, factors that led to an adverse outcome or diagnosis of frailty, and interventions to address frailty in PAC. Scales used to measure frailty were dominated by physical factors and scarce on nutrition and social support. Functional decline, grip strength, gait speed, polypharmacy, and nutrition were identified in the studies as factors that identify frailty and are associated with poor outcomes. All these frailty characteristics compromise patients' ability to benefit from rehabilitation, which further establishes the importance of PAC providers to identify, prevent, and treat frailty. Intervention studies had mixed outcomes, suggesting a need for further development in this area. The findings of this scoping review highlight the need for a comprehensive multidimensional assessment of frailty risks in PAC. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: IV.