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
. 2021 Dec 18;21(1):723.
doi: 10.1186/s12877-021-02660-6.

Web-based software applications for frailty assessment in older adults: a scoping review of current status with insights into future development

Riley Chang  1 , Hilary Low  1   2 , Andrew McDonald  1   3 , Grace Park  3   4 , Xiaowei Song  5   6   7
Affiliations

Web-based software applications for frailty assessment in older adults: a scoping review of current status with insights into future development

Riley Chang et al. BMC Geriatr. .

Abstract

Background: A crucial aspect of continued senior care is the early detection and management of frailty. Developing reliable and secure electronic frailty assessment tools can benefit virtual appointments, a need especially relevant in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. An emerging effort has targeted web-based software applications to improve accessibility and usage. The objectives of this scoping review are to identify and evaluate web-based frailty assessment tools currently available and to identify challenges and opportunities for future development.

Methods: We conducted a review with literature (e.g., using MEDLINE databases) and Google searches (last updated on October 10, 2021). Each of the identified web applications were assessed based on eight featured categories and assigned a rating score accordingly.

Results: Twelve web-based frailty assessment applications were found, chiefly provided by the USA (50%) or European countries (41%) and focused on frailty grading and outcome prediction for specific patient groups (59%). Categories that scored well among the applications included the User Interface (2.8/3) and the Cost (2.7/3). Other categories had a mean score of 1.6/3 or lower. The least developed feature was Data Saving.

Conclusions: Web-based applications represent a viable option for remote frailty assessments and multidisciplinary integrated care of older adults. Despite the available web-based frailty assessments on the Internet, many missed certain needed features for professional use in healthcare settings. This situation calls for fully comprehensive web-based applications, taking into consideration a number of key functions linking graphical user interface and functionalities, and paying special attention to secure data management.

Keywords: Comprehensive geriatric assessment; Digital health; Frailty assessments; Web applications; Web-based software.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow diagram showing searches on Google and MEDLINE
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Graph comparing the total scores of each assessment. *The scoring was based on the categories as given in the legends. Additional categories (time efficiency, security, algorithm efficiency, environmental and browser requirements) could not be scored due to limited information from the applications under evaluation
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Vaupel JW, Manton KG, Stallard E. The impact of heterogeneity in individual frailty on the dynamics of mortality. Demography. 1979;16:439–454. - PubMed
    1. Clegg A, Young J, Iliffe S, Rikkert MO, Rockwood K. Frailty in elderly people. Lancet (London, England) 2013;38:752–762. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Sternberg SA, Wershof Schwartz A, Karunananthan S, Bergman H, Mark CA. The identification of frailty: a systematic literature review. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2011;59:2129–2138. - PubMed
    1. Pijpers E, Ferreira I, Stehouwer CD, Nieuwenhuijzen Kruseman AC. The frailty dilemma. Review of the predictive accuracy of major frailty scores. Eur J Intern Med. 2012;23:118–123. - PubMed
    1. Morley JE, Vellas B, van Kan GA, Anker SD, Bauer JM, Bernabei R, et al. Frailty consensus: a call to action. J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2013;14:392–397. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types