Identification
The identification of frailty can be both opportunistic, by assessing for frailty in people who present to health and care services, or population based, where a more systematic approach is taken to proactively identifying people who might be living with the condition.
Prevention is key to improving the quality of life. This aim is to reduce the number of people who become frail and to halt, slow or reduce the impact of frailty through early identification.
(Hospice uk): It is rare that people see themselves as ‘frail’. Instead, they might describe ‘slowing down’ or modifying activities to meet their physical ability. When you are identifying and assessing frailty, you should avoid reinforcing negative stereotypes of aging and dependency. Focus on what each person can do and what support they need to live well. Enabling people to live well with frailty requires you to understand each individual, what support networks they already have and what is important to them. It is important to optimise quantity and quality of life. Carrying out a holistic assessment will help you determine what person-centred care is appropriate.
The nature of frailty means that all individual assessments should be part of an ongoing cycle, not a standalone activity.
Appropriate tools can be used to identify people with frailty such as
- Electronic Frailty Index (EFI)
- Cambridge Multi-morbidity Score
- John Hopkins Frailty Assessment Calculator
- Clinical review
- Annual assessments
- Self assessment
- Proactive Care (Proactive care framework)
Resources
FrailtyStrategy_FINALOct22.pdf
Frailty: identification and assessment | Hospice UK