Early Identification and Monitoring of Frailty in the Elderly: A Specialized Nursing Intervention Project

This article presents an intervention project focused on managing frailty in older
adults, based on the premise that early detection of geriatric sindromes, is fundamental for successful
aging. The starting point was data from a 2018 study conducted in our health care unit, which
revealed that approximately 49.8% of elderly clients (from a total sample of 280)
presented frailty criteria. This motivated the need to deepen our understanding of the
profile of these individuals to ensure preventive monitoring. Using a project-based
methodology and opportunistic data collection in a clinical setting, a multidimensional
assessment of users was carried out using a summarized instrument created and
based on the WHO toolkit, published in 2008. This allows for the early identification of at-risk
individuals, enabling intervention and ensuring their referral to the family doctor, and early nursing intervention.

whenever a geriatric syndrome is identified, thus allowing for early clinical
intervention. Whenever necessary, the user was referred to the corresponding
hospital specialty. The results obtained reinforce that systematic screening and
specialized nursing intervention are essential pillars for delaying functional decline,
promoting a higher quality of life for people over 65 years of age. It is concluded that
the implementation of early follow-up protocols allows for a more efficient health
response, focused on prevention and maintaining the maximum autonomy of the
elderly person in the community. Promoting the best aging possible acording to the person life wishes.