The Contribution of Frailty to Participation of Older Adults

Debbie Rand, Shelley A. Sternberg, Reut Gasner Winograd, Zvi Buckman and Netta Bentur
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Debbie Rand: Department of Occupational Therapy, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel
Shelley A. Sternberg: Division of Geriatrics, Maccabi Healthcare Services, Modiin 7178051, Israel
Reut Gasner Winograd: Department of Occupational Therapy, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel
Zvi Buckman: Home Care Department, Maccabi Health Care Services, Rishon L’Zion 7526602, Israel
Netta Bentur: Department of Occupational Therapy, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 3, 1-9

Abstract: Background: Participation, which is involvement in life situations, is an important indicator of human health and well-being of older adults. Frailty is known to be related to difficulties in activities of daily living (ADL) but the association with participation restriction has not been sufficiently researched. Therefore, we aimed to (1) to assess the correlations between frailty, ADL, and participation; and (2) to identify the contribution of frailty to explaining the participation restriction of older adults. Methods: A cross-sectional study included home visits to community-dwelling older adults aged 75 and older. The Reintegration to Normal Living Index (RNL-I) assessed participation, PRISMA-7 assessed frailty, and the Functional Independence Measure and IADL questionnaire assessed the basic and instrumental ADL. Cognition, which may explain participation, was also assessed (The Montreal Cognitive Assessment) and demographic information was collected. Results: Older adults (N = 121, 60 women), aged 75 to 91 years (mean (SD)—79.6 (3.1)), were included. Older adults demonstrated full to restricted participation (RNL-I-mean (SD)—78.2 (18.0)/100). Frailty was identified in 39 (32%) older adults (mean (SD) PRISMA-7—2.9 (1.4)/7points). A negative moderate significant correlation was found between participation and frailty (r = −0.634, p < 0.001). The variance of participation was significantly explained by frailty, 31.5%, and basic ADL, 5.6% (after controlling for age and cognition); the total model explained 44.6% (F = 23.29, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Frailty is significantly associated with participation restriction. Since participation has many health benefits, understanding which factors are associated to participation is central to developing interventions for older adults. These findings may help health professionals in the future develop interventions for maintaining and promoting the participation of older adults.

Keywords: daily-living; independence; community-dwelling; frailty syndrome (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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