Frailty and Quality Of Life in the Elderly Living in Nursing Home

Abstract

Objective: This work was designed to determine the association between the level of frailty and quality of life in nursing home residents. Materials and Methods: This descriptive and correlational study was conducted in a nursing home in Turkey that is affiliated with the Ministry of Family and Social Policy. Between May 2016 and August 2016, we included 126 elderly individuals who satisfied the inclusion criteria and who agreed to participate in the study. Results: The mean age of the participants was 78.2±10.7 years. The scores achieved in the Edmonton Frail Scale showed moderate and severe frailty in 33.4% of the elderly individuals. There was a linear correlation between frailty and life quality scores (r=-0.323, p<0.001). In the regression analysis, it was determined that as the age increased, the frailty total score increased significantly (F=9.567, p<0.05, R=0.60, R2=0.36). It was observed that as the number of chronic diseases increased, the frailty total score increased. Conclusion: According to the results of the study, it was determined that fragility affected the quality of life in elderly individuals. It is recommended for healthcare personnel in the nursing home to evaluate the elderly in terms of frailty and to know risk factors for the frail elders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]