Frailty in Daily Practice: Screening, Consultation and Education Activities

The present study is designed to to estimate the prevalence of frailty and pre-frailty and their associated factors in community-dwelling populations aged 50 years and above in Hong Kong, and to explore the views of participants taking part in a community health talks or activities on frailty about what the participants felt or had gained from participating, concerns, and suggestions for change or improvement.

A survey of 15000 people aged 50 years or older identified in community facilities will be conducted. The participants will be invited to their affiliated centres for a brief screening using the FRAIL scale and assessment. A series of community health talks or activities on frailty will be offered to the participants based on the frailty status.Questionnaire and screening tools will be administered by trained researchers.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Frailty
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Health screening, community health talks or activities on frailty

Detailed Description

A 30-month community survey will be conducted, and the survey will be divided into three phases, namely study preparation and subject recruitment (6 months), data collection (18 months), and data entry and analysis (6 months).

A survey of 15000 people aged 50 years or older identified in community facilities (e.g., neighbourhood elderly centre, social centre for the elderly) will be conducted. The participants will be invited to their affiliated centres for a brief screening using the FRAIL scale and assessment. A series of community health talks or activities on frailty will be offered to the participants based on the frailty status. Questionnaire and screening tools will be administered by trained researchers.

The primary outcome will be the prevalence of frailty and pre-frailty. Secondary outcomes will cover physical performance measures including hand-grip strength and 5-chair stand test. Anthropometric and demographic data will also be collected using standardized methods and questionnaires respectively.

Views of participants taking part in a community health talks or activities on frailty about what the participants felt or had gained from participating, concerns, and suggestions for change or improvement will be explored by client satisfaction questionnaires.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 5951

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• China
  • Hong Kong, China
    • Chinese University of Hong Kong

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 50 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

People aged 50 years or older will be identified in community facilities (e.g., neighbourhood elderly centre, social centre for the elderly).

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• People aged 50 years or older
• Chinese origin
• Normally reside in Hong Kong
• Could speak and understand Chinese
• Willing to follow the study procedures

Exclusion Criteria:

-Live in a residential aged care facility

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Frailty status	Frailty status (i.e. robust, prefrail or frail) measured using the frailty scale (FRAIL) in which unabbreviated scale name is unavailable for this scale. Frailty scores from 0 to 5 (i.e., 1 point for each component; 0 = best to 5 = worst) and represent robust (0), pre-frail (1-2), and frail (3-5) health status.	1 day (Once only at screening)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Handgrip strength	Handgrip strength measured using a dynamometer	1 day (Once only at screening)
5 chair stands	Muscle endurance in the lower extremities - Participant will be required to rise from a chair a total of 5 times, as quickly as they could, with arms across their chest. The amount of time required to complete all 5 repetitions will be recorded.	1 day (Once only at screening)

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Weight	Weight in kilogram measured using standardized method	1 day (Once only at screening)
Height	Height in centimeter measured using standardized method	1 day (Once only at screening)
Waist circumference	Waist circumference in centimeter measured using standardized method	1 day (Once only at screening)
Systolic blood pressure	Systolic blood pressure in mmHg measured using standardized method	1 day (Once only at screening)
Diastolic blood pressure	Diastolic blood pressure in mmHg measured using standardized method	1 day (Once only at screening)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Chinese University of Hong Kong
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Jean Woo, MD, Chinese University of Hong Kong

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): January 3, 2020
• Primary Completion (Actual): April 30, 2022
• Study Completion (Actual): May 25, 2022

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: October 23, 2019
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 24, 2019
• First Posted (Actual): October 25, 2019

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 26, 2022
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 25, 2022
• Last Verified: May 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pathologic Processes; Frailty
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2019.475

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No