Frailty: A Public Health Perspective

Traditionally, frailty has been conceptualized as reflecting an inevitable decline in abilities usually associated with physical aspects of aging. More recent thinking now sees frailty as reflecting an interaction among individual factors and a range of environmental elements. These emerging models,...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Canadian journal of public health 1995-07, Vol.86 (4), p.224-227
Main Authors: Raphael, Dennis, Cava, Maureen, Brown, Ivan, Renwick, Rebecca, Heathcote, Kit, Weir, Nancy, Wright, Karen, Kirwan, Lori
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic degrees
Activities of Daily Living
Aged
Aging
Analysis. Health state
Attitude to Health
Biological and medical sciences
Chronic diseases
Community health
Dependency (Psychology) in old age
Disabilities
Disabled Persons
Diseases
Environment
Environmental psychology
Epidemiology
Frail Elderly
General aspects
Geriatric Assessment
Health aspects
Health Promotion
Health Services for the Aged
Humans
Medical sciences
Older adults
Older people, Health and hygiene
Ontario
People with disabilities
Public Health
Public health, Canada
Public health. Hygiene
Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine
Quality of life
Senior citizens
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Traditionally, frailty has been conceptualized as reflecting an inevitable decline in abilities usually associated with physical aspects of aging. More recent thinking now sees frailty as reflecting an interaction among individual factors and a range of environmental elements. These emerging models, however, continue to consider frailty as a condition that resides within the individual rather than a situation that exists for the individual. We present a new model that defines frailty as occurring when there is diminished ability to carry out the important practical and social activities of daily living. Factors related to the occurrence of frailty are considered, as are the theoretical and practice implications of viewing frailty as a social construction. Jusqu'à maintenant, la fragilité était considérée comme le reflet du déclin inévitable des facultés habituellement associé aux aspects physiques du vieillissement. Avec l'évolution de la réflexion à ce sujet, on pense depuis peu que la fragilité est le reflet de l'interaction entre divers facteurs et toute une gamme d'éléments environnementaux. Les nouveaux modèles continuent toutefois de considérer la fragilité comme une condition au sein de l'individu plutôt que comme une situation qui existe pour l'individu. Nous présentons dans cet article un nouveau modèle selon lequel la fragilité apparaît quand il existe une diminution de l'aptitude à remplir les importantes activités pratiques et sociales du quotidien. L'article examine les facteurs liés à l'existence de cet état, ainsi que les conséquences d'ordres pratique et théorique si l'on considère la fragilité comme une résultante sociale.
ISSN:0008-4263
1920-7476