The concept of frailty is currently being debated in the field of geriatric care, but there is no agreed definition that would allow frail elderly persons to be identified. The purpose of this article was to identify and group the opinions of clinical experts in our setting. We conducted 19 semi-structured interviews with health professionals (clinicians and nurses) working mainly with the elderly in several health care settings in districts 2 and 5 of the autonomous region of Madrid.
The frail elderly: are we all talking about the same thing?
 
  Key words
 
 
  
   Frailty
  
 
 
  
   Frail elderly
  
 
 
  
   Vulnerability
  
 
 
  
   Disability
  
 
 
  
   Geriatric assessment
  
 
The concept of frailty is currently being debated in the field of geriatric care, but there is no agreed definition that would allow frail elderly persons to be identified.
The purpose of this article was to identify and group the opinions of clinical experts in our setting.
We conducted 19 semi-structured interviews with health professionals (clinicians and nurses) working mainly with the elderly in several health care settings in districts 2 and 5 of the autonomous region of Madrid.
The responses obtained indicated five distinct trends: a reduction in physiologic reserve, <dis>loss of functional autonomy</dis>, <dis>cognitive impairment</dis>, the presence of chronic diseases, and a minority view that rejects this concept.
Notable was the view of frailty as a multifactorial phenomenon in which different weight was given to biological, psychological or social factors according to the type of health professional consulted.
The conceptual diversity of the term «frailty» hampers comparison among different studies.
Therefore, a working definition of the term, accepted by health professionals involved in the care of the elderly, should be established.
The concept of frailty is currently being debated in the field of geriatric care, but there is no agreed definition that would allow frail elderly persons to be identified.
The purpose of this article was to identify and group the opinions of clinical experts in our setting.
We conducted 19 semi-structured interviews with health professionals (clinicians and nurses) working mainly with the elderly in several health care settings in districts 2 and 5 of the autonomous region of Madrid.
The responses obtained indicated five distinct trends: a reduction in physiologic reserve, loss of functional autonomy, cognitive impairment, the presence of chronic diseases, and a minority view that rejects this concept.
Notable was the view of frailty as a multifactorial phenomenon in which different weight was given to biological, psychological or social factors according to the type of health professional consulted.
The conceptual diversity of the term «frailty» hampers comparison among different studies.
Therefore, a working definition of the term, accepted by health professionals involved in the care of the elderly, should be established.
The concept of frailty is currently being debated in the field of geriatric care, but there is no agreed definition that would allow frail elderly persons to be identified. The purpose of this article was to identify and group the opinions of clinical experts in our setting. We conducted 19 semi-structured interviews with health professionals (clinicians and nurses) working mainly with the elderly in several health care settings in districts 2 and 5 of the autonomous region of Madrid.