Author: Chad Yixian Han
Han, Chad Yixian, 2022 Pre-frailty and frailty in hospitalised older adults: Prevalence, identification, and development of a self-managed exercise and nutrition program, Flinders University, College of Nursing and Health Sciences
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Pre-frailty and frailty, as age-associated conditions, are increasing as more adults are surviving into old age. The hallmark symptoms of pre-frailty and frailty are emphasised when vulnerable older adults are hospitalised, putting them at higher risk of further decline, functional loss, and malnutrition. Within multimodal therapies for pre-frailty and frailty, combined exercise and nutrition interventions are suggested to be amongst the most effective to treat and prevent aspects of pre-frailty and frailty. However, the understanding of such pre-frailty and frailty interventions in hospitalised older adults is still poor. The involvement of dietitians in such interventions also lacks understanding. The identification of pre-frailty and frailty can also pose a challenge in the time-pressured hospital environment. This thesis aims to identify new knowledge to address these challenges to improve pre-frailty and frailty detection and care (including that of self-management) in hospitalised older adults.
Keywords: Pre-frailty, Frailty, self-management, nutrition, exercise, older adults
Subject: Ageing Studies thesis
Thesis type: Doctor of Philosophy
Completed: 2022
School: College of Nursing and Health Sciences
Supervisor: Michelle Miller