Challenges and Solutions for Frailty: Role of Nurses

Abstract: Frailty refers to a loss of physiologic function that makes a person susceptible to disability from minor stresses. The frailty syndrome is a collection of symptoms primarily due to the aging-related loss and dysfunction of skeletal muscle and bone, that place older adults at increased levels of risk for disability, dependency, falls, injury, ospitalization, need for long term care, and mortality. Frailty is thought distinguishable from disability and comorbidity. Frailty always implies multisystem dysfunction. Severity of frailty range subclinical to a clinical stage to impending death. It is Important to recognize and treat the frailty syndrome before occurrence of any adverse outcomes. Fried's Phenotype screening tool identifies a person as being frail