Frailty Syndrome: Nursing Interventions

BACKGROUND: Frailty syndrome is now becoming a challenge for multidisciplinary teams. Frailty assessment in elderly patients is recommended due to the associated cascade of irreversible alterations that ultimately result in disability. AIMS: The purpose of this article is to identify interventions, which can be implemented and performed by nurses as part of a multidisciplinary plan. Nursing strategies related to nutrition, polypharmacy, adherence to treatment, falls, exercise, and mood and cognitive intervention are described. DESIGN: Discussion paper. DATA SOURCES: Relevant and up-to-date literature from PubMed, MEDLINE, and Scopus databases regarding the selected issues, such as nutritional status, polypharmacy, falls, physical activity, and cognitive functions. CONCLUSION: Frailty is considered preventable or even reversible with the appropriate interventions, which can help maintain or even restore physical abilities, cognitive function, or nutritional status in frail elderly patients. Hence, the nursing interventions are significant in clinical practice and should be implemented for frail patients. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING: Health-care providers, especially nurses, in their clinical practice should recognize not only elderly patients but also elderly patients with concurrent frailty, requiring intensified therapeutic interventions tailored to their individual needs. Frailty syndrome is undoubtedly a challenge for multidisciplinary teams providing health care for geriatric patients.