What is frailty? | Age UK

'Frailty' is a term that's used a lot, but is often misunderstood. When used properly, it refers to a person's mental and physical ... Skiptocontent Postcode Pleaseenteravalidpostcode Submit Youarehere: Home Ourimpact Policy&research Frailtyinolderpeople Understandingfrailty Listen Frailtyinolderpeople Understandingfrailty FrailtyandtheNHSLongTermPlan Commonconditionsandfrailty Understandingfrailty ‘Frailty’isatermthat’susedalot,butisoftenmisunderstood.Whenusedproperly,itreferstoaperson’smentalandphysicalresilience,ortheirabilitytobouncebackandrecoverfromeventslikeillnessandinjury. Whatisfrailty? Livingwithfrailty Outcomesforpeoplelivingwithfrailty Whatisfrailty? Thetermfrailtyor‘beingfrail’isoftenusedtodescribeaparticularstateofhealthoftenexperiencedbyolderpeople.Butsometimesit’susedinaccurately. Ifsomeoneislivingwithfrailty,itdoesn’tmeantheylackcapacityorareincapableoflivingafullandindependentlife. Whenusedproperly,itactuallydescribessomeone'soverallresilienceandhowthisrelatestotheirchancetorecoverquicklyfollowinghealthproblems. Inpracticebeingfrailmeansarelatively‘minor’healthproblem,suchasaurinarytractinfection,canhaveaseverelongtermimpactonsomeone’shealthandwellbeing. Thisiswhyitissoimportantthatpeoplelivingwithfrailtyhaveaccesstowell-planned,joined-upcaretopreventproblemsarisinginthefirstplace–andarapid,specialistresponseshouldanythinggowrong. Frailtyisgenerallycharacterisedbyissueslikereducedmusclestrengthandfatigue.Around10%ofpeopleagedover65livewithfrailty.Thisfigurerisestobetween25%anda50%forthoseagedover85. Frailtyisn’tthesameaslivingwithmultiplelong-termhealthconditions.There’softenoverlap,butequallysomeonelivingwithfrailtymayhavenootherdiagnosedhealthconditions. Usefulresouces FitforFrailty FitforFrailtyprovidesafurtheroverviewoffrailtyandconsensusbestpracticeguidanceonhowtosupportpeopleolderpeoplelivingwithfrailtyinallhealthcaresettings. FitforFrailty Topofsection Livingwithfrailty Someonelivingwithfrailtymayneedtoadapthowtheylivetheirlife,andfindnewwaystomanagedaytodaytasks.Thiscanbetruefortheirfamilytoo. Frailtycanalsoprofoundlychallengesomeone'ssenseofselfandchangehowtheyareperceivedandtreatedbyothers,includinghealthcareprofessionals. Peoplelivingwithfrailtyaremorelikelytoexperiencepublicandprivateservicesthatarenotgearedtotheirneeds.Theycanbeparticularlyvulnerabletotheconsequencesofpoorqualityhealthcareandservicesthatfailtoconnect. Usefulresources Understandingthelivesofolderpeoplelivingwithfrailty Thisresourceexplorestheeverydayrealityandexperienceoffrailty.Thereportspendstimewitholderpeoplelivingwithfrailtyintheirownhomes,exploringthechallengestheyfaceandsomeofthebarriersthatpreventthemfromgettingthemostfromtheircare.Itcapturestheirexperiencesinaseriesofshortfilmsexploringkeythemes. Understandingthelivesofolderpeoplelivingwithfrailty Frailty:LanguageandPerceptions Thisresourceexploresthechallengesaroundlanguageandperceptionsoffrailtyamongstolderpeople,carersandhealthcareprofessionals. Frailty:LanguageandPerceptions APracticalGuidetoHealthyAgeing Therearepracticalstepspeoplecantakeatanyagetoimprovetheirhealthandreducetheirriskatfrailty.APracticalGuidetoHealthyAgeingaimstoprovideadvicetopeoplearoundtheageof70andabove,butcanbehelpfultopeopleofanyage. APracticalGuidetoHealthyAgeing   Topofsection Outcomesforpeoplelivingwithfrailty It'simportantthatpeoplelivingwithfrailtyhaveaccesstoproactive,joined-upcaretomaximisehealthandwellbeingandpreventproblemsarisinginthefirstplace.Equallyimportantisaccesstorapid,specialistservicesintheeventofahealthcrisis. There'sgoodevidencetosupportworkingwithindividualolderpeopleandtheirfamiliestoputinplacecareandsupportplanstailoredtomeetindividualneeds,basedaroundpeople'sowngoalsandpreferences. Usefulresources I'mStillMe...anarrativeforcoordinatedsupportforolderpeople Thisresourceexploreswhatismostimportanttoolderpeopleandproposeswaysofmakingsurehealthandcareservicesareworkingtomeetthoseexpectationsthroughaseriesof'I'statements. I'mStillMe StandardSetforOlderPersons TheInternationalConsortiumofHealthOutcomeMeasuresworkedwithexpertstodevelopaStandardSetforOlderPersonswhichcanbeusedbyhealthandcareservicestoassessandmonitoroutcomesforolderpeoplelivingwithfrailty.Afullopenaccesspaperontheprocessisalsoavailable. StandardSetforOlderPersons FullOpenAccessPaper   Topofsection Moreonfrailty FrailtyandtheNHSLongTermPlan Commonconditionsandfrailty Sharethispage ShareonFacebook Tweet Print Lastupdated:Jul212020 Becomepartofourstory Facebook Twitter Youtube Instagram Signuptoday Emailaddress Errors Pleaseenteravalidemailaddress Backtotop