fraXity study : A survey on frailty and complexity among individuals receiving home care / assistance

Abstract

The objective of the fraXity study is to provide homecare professionals with valid and reliable frailty and complexity screening tools implementable in routine practice. Data collected by trained nurses at participants' home by means of interRAI-HC standardized interviews serve to develop computation algorithms for a frailty index (FI) and a complexity index (CI). A prospective observational case-control longitudinal design is used to assess the predictive validity of the indices with respect to undesirable health outcomes. Repeated measurement occasions, separated by 6-month intervals, also allow estimating intra-individual change in frailty and complexity. The baseline sample of volunteers aged 65 or older is divided into three groups according to a priori risks of adverse health outcomes: recipients of formal home care (case 1); recipients of formal home assistance (case 2); individuals free of formal home services (control). A comparative approach allows documenting frailty and complexity rates across groups as well as their evolution over time.