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Review
. 2022 Jan 3;22(1):13.
doi: 10.1186/s12877-021-02722-9.

Frailty-aware care: giving value to frailty assessment across different healthcare settings

Kevin F Boreskie  1   2   3 , Jacqueline L Hay  4   5 , Patrick E Boreskie  6 , Rakesh C Arora  5   7 , Todd A Duhamel  4   5
Affiliations
Review

Frailty-aware care: giving value to frailty assessment across different healthcare settings

Kevin F Boreskie et al. BMC Geriatr. .

Abstract

Healthcare systems need to adapt to better serve an aging population with complex presentations. Frailty assessments are a potential means to address this heterogeneity in aging to identify individuals at increased risk for adverse health outcomes. Furthermore, frailty assessments offer an opportunity to optimize patient care in various healthcare settings. While the vast number of frailty assessment tools available can be a source of confusion for clinicians, each tool has features adaptable to the constraints and goals of different healthcare settings. This review discusses and compares barriers, facilitators, and the application of frailty assessments in primary care, the emergency department/intensive care unit and surgical care to cover a breadth of settings with different frailty assessment considerations. The implementation of frailty-aware care across healthcare settings potentiates better healthcare outcomes for older adults.

Keywords: Critical Care; Emergency Medicine; Frailty; Perioperative Care; Primary Care.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Summary of main considerations for frailty assessment in primary care, acute care and the surgical context
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Knowledge-to-action cycle for incorporating frailty into clinical settings. Based on the KTA cycle outlined by Graham et al. [130]
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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