Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 7, 2026
05:53
Measuring Frailty in HIV-infected Individuals. Identification of Frail Patients is the First Step to Amelioration and Reversal of Frailty
Published on: July 24, 2013
Fatigue in frail elderly people
Christine Toye1, Kate White, Karen Rooksby
1School of Nursing, Midwifery and Postgraduate Medicine, Edith Cowan University, Pearson Street, Churchlands, Western Australia, 6018. c.toye@ecu.edu.au
International Journal of Palliative Nursing
|July 13, 2006
Summary
Frail older adults experience fatigue, but measurement tools are scarce. This study developed the Frail Elder Fatigue Assessment Tool, aiding research and clinical assessment of fatigue in this population.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Nursing
- Rehabilitation
Background:
- Frail older adults frequently experience fatigue.
- Existing tools for measuring fatigue in this demographic are insufficient.
- Understanding the lived experience of fatigue is crucial for developing effective interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore and describe the experiences of fatigue in frail older people.
- To develop and refine a measurement tool for assessing fatigue in frail elders.
- To provide a tool for both research and clinical use.
Main Methods:
- Qualitative exploration of fatigue experiences in 12 residents of Australian aged care facilities.
- Development of a fatigue measure based on qualitative findings and literature review.
- Panel review, piloting, and refinement of the developed tool (Frail Elder Fatigue Assessment Tool).
Main Results:
- Identified key themes in fatigue experiences: pacing, battling on, hitting rock bottom, feeling safe, and moving on.
- Developed the Frail Elder Fatigue Assessment Tool with 20 items across three subscales: fatigue effects, fatigue resources, and adaptation to fatigue.
- Initial refinement indicates potential utility, though further psychometric validation is needed.
Conclusions:
- Frail elders may manage fatigue effects with adequate support.
- The Frail Elder Fatigue Assessment Tool shows promise for assessing fatigue in this population.
- Further research is required to establish the psychometric properties of the tool.
Related Concept Videos
01:21Fatigue
Fatigue occurs when materials rupture under repeated or fluctuating loads, even at stress levels far below their static breaking strength. It typically results in brittle failure, even for ductile materials. It is a critical consideration in designing machines and structural components subjected to repetitive or varying loads. The nature of these loadings can range from fluctuating loads like unbalanced pump impellers causing vibrations to repeatedly bending a thin steel rod wire back and forth...
01:24Muscle Recovery and Fatigue
Muscle fatigue refers to the decline in a muscle's ability to maintain the force of contraction after prolonged activity. It primarily stems from changes within muscle fibers. Even before experiencing muscle fatigue, one may feel tired and have the urge to stop the activity. This response, known as central fatigue, occurs due to changes in the central nervous system, namely the brain and spinal cord. While there is no single mechanism that induces fatigue, it may serve as a protective response...
01:30Heart Failure VII: Nursing Interventions
The first step in nursing management of a patient with heart failure involves thoroughly assessing the patient's medical history.Subjective Data: Obtain the patient's medical history of coronary artery disease, hypertension, myocardial infarction, and symptoms like dyspnea, orthopnea, and paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea.Objective Data: Conduct a physical examination to identify findings such as jugular vein distention, pulmonary crackles, tachycardia, murmurs, peripheral edema, and vital signs,...
01:22Heart Failure VI: Adjunct Therapies
Additional therapies for treating patients with heart failure (HF) may include procedural interventions, supplemental oxygen, the management of sleep disorders, and nutritional therapy.Procedural InterventionsImplantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator: For patients at risk of life-threatening arrhythmias due to severe left ventricular dysfunction, an Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator (ICD) can detect and terminate these arrhythmias, preventing sudden cardiac death and improving survival rates.
01:27Pharmacodynamics in Geriatric Patients: Effects of Age
Age-related pharmacokinetic changes are extensively documented, but understanding age-related pharmacodynamic alterations is relatively limited. This knowledge gap can be partly attributed to the complexity of developing appropriate measures of drug responses compared to bioanalytical methods for determining drug concentrations.Most information regarding age-related differences in human pharmacodynamics originates from cross-sectional studies. However, these studies assume that observed mean...
01:26Heart Failure III: Clinical Manifestations
Heart failure (HF) manifests primarily as dyspnea, fatigue, and fluid retention, resulting in peripheral and pulmonary edema. Symptoms may vary depending on which ventricle is more affected, left or right.Left-Sided Heart FailureAlso known as left ventricular failure, this condition results from the left ventricle's inability to fill or eject sufficient blood into the systemic circulation. It leads to pulmonary congestion, which occurs when the left ventricle fails to eject blood effectively...