WP5 Knowing frailty at population levelKnowing frailty at population level

Increasing numbers of frail people are attending their general practitioners (GPs). Frailty can lead to more frequent hospital admissions, poorer outcomes and potential loss of autonomy. Therefore, screening for frailty with early intervention in the primary healthcare setting should be prioritized. The main objectives of WP5 ‘Knowing frailty at population level’ are to determine the current prevalence of frailty, especially in the primary health care setting, among participant Member States (MS) as well as to understand the current clinical practice in regards to screening, surveillance and monitoring of frailty and the transition between different frailty states. This will facilitate identification of any gaps in service provision for frailty in MS.

Specific tasks for the WP5 Team include the following:

– Perform a review of the literature to determine the prevalence of frailty at population level among the participating MS
– Perform a review of the literature to determine the current practice in participant MS with regards to the 3 fundamental steps for assessing frailty status at population level: screening, surveillance and monitoring with specific focus on primary healthcare
– Perform a review of the literature to determine frailty trajectories or transition states (e.g.: pre-frail, frail, disability)
– Determine frailty in primary healthcare settings

WP5 results will be discussed in the Expert Panel (EP) meeting. Following the EP comments, a state of the art report (SoAR) describing prevalence of frailty at population level, across the participant MS will be finalised. The SoAR will be subsequently incorporated into the final Frailty Prevention Approach (FPA) document.