Multidimensional Short Tools to assess frailty: a narrative review.

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Public Health
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• The aging population in the European Union presents a growing public health challenge due to increasing frailty.
• Frailty is increasingly recognized as a multidimensional construct encompassing physical, psychological, and social aspects, aligning with person-centered care principles.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and evaluate short, reliable, multidimensional frailty assessment scales suitable for large-scale application.
• To provide healthcare professionals with comparative information on available frailty assessment tools for clinical decision-making.

Main Methods:

• A systematic literature search was conducted on PubMed for frailty assessment scales.
• Included scales were published from 2010 onwards, available in English, short in length, and multidimensional.

Main Results:

• Seven frailty assessment scales were identified and analyzed: Zulfiqar Frailty Scale (ZFS), Pictorial Fit-Frail Scale (PFFS), Tilburg Frailty Indicator (TFI), SUNFRAIL Tool, (fr)AGILE, Risk Instrument for Screening in the Community (RISC), and Short Functional Geriatric Evaluation (SFGE).
• Key features compared included the number of questions, administration time, assessed domains, and psychometric properties (validity and reliability).

Conclusions:

• These tools offer valuable data for planning community health and social care services to address individual needs.
• The widespread adoption of these frailty assessment tools in European Union community care settings is not yet common but is recommended.