Tools to Identify Community-Dwelling Older Adults in Different Stages of Frailty

There is a paucity of evidence regarding the ability of health professionals to recognize and manage frailty in community settings before it contributes to significant functional dependency. The purpose of this study was to examine, through a systematic review of the literature, tools that can identify community-dwelling older adults in different stages of frailty. We searched multiple electronic databases (Medline, Embase, Psycinfo, Cinahl, Scopus, Ageline, Eric, Hapi). Our search yielded 27 articles that met established criteria. Most commonly used tools included Fried et al.' s Frailty Phenotype (2001), Rockwood et al.' s Frailty Classification (1999), and Speechley and Tinetti's Classification of Frailty and Vigorousness (1991). With our rapidly aging population an increasing number of health services are being provided in the community and it is important that therapists have the necessary tools to enable timely and well-targeted intervention. (C) 2008 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.