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Frailty Screening in Low‐ and Middle‐Income Countries: A Systematic Review
Author(s) -
Gray William K.,
Richardson Jenny,
McGuire Jackie,
Dewhurst Felicity,
Elder Vasanthi,
Weeks Julie,
Walker Richard W.,
Dotchin Catherine L.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of the american geriatrics society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.992
H-Index - 232
eISSN - 1532-5415
pISSN - 0002-8614
DOI - 10.1111/jgs.14069
Subject(s) - medicine , cinahl , medline , low and middle income countries , gerontology , population , systematic review , health care , developing country , environmental health , psychological intervention , nursing , political science , law , economics , economic growth
Objectives To conduct a systematic review of frailty screening tools used in low‐ and middle‐income countries ( LMIC s). Design Systematic review. Setting LMIC s, as defined by the World Bank on June 30, 2014. Participants Elderly adults (as defined by the authors) living in LMIC s. Measurements Studies were included if the population under consideration lived in a LMIC , the study involved an assessment of frailty, the study population was elderly adults, and the full text of the study was available in English. The Medline, Embase, CINAHL and Psych INFO databases were searched up to June 30, 2014. Results Seventy studies with data from 22 LMIC s were included in the review. Brazil, Mexico, and China provided data for 60 of the 70 studies (85.7%), and 15 countries contributed data to only one study. Thirty‐six studies used the Fried criteria to assess frailty, 20 used a Frailty Index, and eight used the Edmonton Frailty Scale; none of the assessment tools used had been fully validated for use in a LMIC . Conclusion There has been a rapid increase in the number of published studies of frailty in LMIC s over the last 5 years. Further validation of the assessment tools used to identify frail elderly people in LMIC s is needed if they are to be efficient in identifying those most in need of health care in such settings.