Assessing Frailty in Older Adults: Strategies and Tools for Effective Policy and Research

The progressive ageing of the population, not accompanied by a corresponding increase in healthy life expectancy, brings to the forefront the study of the health of older adults from a holistic perspective. The concept of frailty aligns with this perspective, as it considers a broader condition of vulnerability involving mainly older individuals, which is much more difficult to define and measure. This article aims to provide an overview of the concept of frailty, the various definitional approaches, and, consequently, the measurement methods, while also focussing on the relationship between frailty and the two main concepts that define health: multimorbidity and disability. Following a brief overview of the types of data and their role in the study of frailty, the article concludes with an analytical approach for defining a measure of frailty.