Frailty of the socially vulnerable elderly

• Published in: Acta paulista de enfermagem Vol. 30; no. 6; pp. 614 - 620
• Main Authors: de Jesus, Isabela Thaís Machado, Orlandi, Ariene Angelini dos Santos, Grazziano, Eliane da Silva, Zazzetta, Marisa Silvana
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sao Paulo Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Escola Paulista de Enfermagem 01-11-2017
• Subjects: Aging; Data processing; Demographics; Ethics; Frailty; Geriatrics; Older people; Primary care; Public health; Public services; Sociodemographics; Statistical analysis
• ISSN: 0103-2100; 1982-0194
• DOI: 10.1590/1982-0194201700088

To identify the relationship between frailty, sociodemographic characteristics, and social vulnerability of the elderly enrolled in a primary care service. This was an exploratory, comparative, and cross-sectional study with a quantitative research approach performed with 247 elderly people enrolled in a primary care service, in a city in the interior of Sao Paulo. A questionnaire was used for socio-demographic characterization of the participants, and the Edmonton Frail Scale was used to evaluate frailty. Vulnerability was classified according to the Paulista Index of Social Vulnerability. Data were analyzed in a descriptive and inferential manner. All ethical recommendations were met. There was a prevalence of frail elderly women, with a mean age of 68.5 (SD=7.3) years, low education, who were retirees. There was a statistically significant difference between frailty and the number of diseases reported (p<0.001). Frailty correlated negatively with social vulnerability (r=-0.043). These results should receive attention from public administrators to understand frailty of the elderly in a context of social vulnerability.