A Review of Community-Based Frailty and Malnutrition Screening in Older Adults: Current Interventions and Tools

Frailty and malnutrition are prevalent and interrelated conditions among community-dwelling older adults, contributing to functional decline, reduced quality of life, and increased healthcare utilization. Early identification through community-based screening offers an important opportunity for prevention; however, screening practices and linked interventions remain heterogeneous across settings. This structured narrative review synthesized peer-reviewed studies published between January 2021 and February 2026 identified through the Scopus database. Eligible studies focused on adults aged ≥ 60 years and examined either community-based frailty or malnutrition screening tools or community interventions that incorporated screenings. Data were synthesized descriptively across two analytical components: screening tools and screening-informed interventions. A total of 42 studies were included. Screening tools ranged from low-resource anthropometric measures and brief questionnaires to structured nutritional indices and multidomain frameworks. Interventions commonly integrated screening with nutrition-focused strategies, physical activity, education, or multidomain lifestyle programs delivered in community settings. Recent studies increasingly emphasized feasibility, early risk identification, and linkage between screening and preventive action. Community-based frailty and malnutrition screening is increasingly used as a gateway to preventive interventions rather than as an isolated assessment. Aligning feasible screening tools with actionable intervention pathways is critical for advancing healthy aging strategies. Future research should prioritize long-term outcomes, implementation sustainability, and system-level integration within community health services.