Frailty
By 2050 it is estimated that up to 4 million older Australians will be at-risk of frailty or frail.
There is very little research in this area in Australia. To do nothing will mean that the spiralling costs of health and aged care will be unaffordable. Researchers are interested in better understanding the disease burden and the impact of risk and frailty on future health outcomes. Between 2016-2022, our centre led the National Health and Medical Research Council Centre of Research Excellence in Frailty and Healthy Ageing. We are currently contributing to the Australian Frailty Network and are active contributors to the Australian and New Zealand Sarcopenia and Frailty Research Society.
We are currently actively involved in a Medical Research Future Fund project relating to working with Citizens Juries to identify circumstances when screening for ageing conditions such as frailty and dementia should occur in primary care or the community.
We have also recently been funded for a project which includes a collaboration with the Canadian Frailty Network. We are hoping to promote the AVOID intervention to older people living in the Charles Sturt Council through a web platform that supports education and behaviour change. This is the first time this initiative is being researched outside of Canada.
How to avoid becoming frail
Learn more about how to avoid frailty with nutrition and exercise via the Ask The Expert video series.
Recent publications
| By | Title |
|---|---|
| Theou O…Visvanathan R, Rockwood K. | Interrupting bedtime to reverse frailty levels in acute care: a study protocol for the Breaking Bad Rest randomized controlled trial. BMC Geriatr. 2023; 23(1): 482 |
| Thompson MQ, Hadczak AD…Visvanathan R. | Frailty change based on minimally important difference in nursing home residents: FIRST cohort study findings. Age Ageing 2022; 51(11):afac246 |
| Ahip SS…Visvanathan R. | The Pictorial Fit-Frail Scale-Malay version (PFFS-M): reliability and validity testing in Malaysian primary care. Fam Pract 2023; 40(2): 290-299 |
| Jadczak AD..Visvanathan R. | Life-space mobility in aged care residents: Frailty in Residential Sector over Time (FIRST) Study Findings. J Am Med Dir Assoc 2022; 23 (11): 1869 |
| Taylor..Visvanathan R. | A vulnerable residential environment is associated with higher risk of mortality and early transition to permanent residential aged care for community dwelling older South Australians. Age and Ageing 2022; 51(3): afac029 |