Quantification of the term frail as applied to the elderly client.
The term frail appears frequently in literature concerning the elderly. It is a label often applied yet infrequently defined. Qualitative research based on a ten-item questionnaire administered to five gerontological health care providers suggested a relationship between frailty and activities of daily living (ADLs)/index of activities of daily living (IADLs). A quantitative study was subsequently completed to ascertain whether this could be validated. A descriptive/correlational study was performed in community-based elderly people. Nurse practitioners classified 34 individuals as frail/not frail and statistical tests were conducted that compared the classification with their ADL/IADL scores. Findings supported a relationship between the classification of frail/not frail and the scores on the ADL/IADL scales. Implications for practice are discussed.
Gealey
S G
SG
Veteran's Administration Medical Center, Butler, Pennsylvania 16001, USA.
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D015400:Clinical Nursing Research; D005260:Female; D016330:Frail Elderly; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D005851:Geriatric Nursing; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009722:Nurse Practitioners; D009730:Nursing Assessment / Q000592:standards*; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires