Nurse-Led Telehealth Frailty Management in Older Adults

June 4, 2026 updated by: Kutahya Health Sciences University

The Effect of a Nurse-Led Telehealth-Supported Multicomponent Frailty Management Program on Frailty and Functional Status in Older Adults Living at Home: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Frailty is an important geriatric syndrome associated with reduced physiological reserve, functional decline, falls, hospitalization, and increased health care use among older adults. This randomized controlled trial aims to evaluate the effect of a nurse-led telehealth-supported multicomponent frailty management program on frailty level and functional status in older adults living at home.

The study will be conducted as a single-center, two-arm, parallel-group randomized controlled trial. A total of 100 older adults aged 65 years and older who are living at home and are frail or at risk of frailty will be randomly assigned to either the intervention group or the control group in a 1:1 ratio.

Participants in the intervention group will receive an 6-week nurse-led telehealth-supported frailty management program, including weekly telephone counseling and individualized follow-up. Participants in the control group will continue usual care. Data will be collected at baseline, at 6 weeks, and at 18 weeks. The primary outcome is frailty level measured using the FRAIL Scale. Secondary outcomes include functional status, depressive symptoms, number of falls, emergency department visits, and hospitalizations.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The intervention includes frailty awareness, physical activity and mobility support, nutrition and fluid intake counseling, fall prevention and home safety, sleep and fatigue management, self-management, and healthy lifestyle behaviors. The program will be delivered by a nurse through an initial face-to-face assessment and weekly telephone counseling sessions lasting approximately 20 to 25 minutes over 6 weeks. Intervention fidelity will be monitored using a standardized checklist.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

100

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Locations

  • Turkey (Türkiye)
    • Kütahya
      • Simav, Kütahya, Turkey (Türkiye), 43500
        • Simav Doc. Dr. Ismail Karakuyu State Hospital Home Care Unit
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Aged 65 years or older
  • Living at home and not receiving institutional care
  • Frail or at risk of frailty
  • Having sufficient hearing and cognitive ability to communicate by telephone
  • Able to read, understand, and communicate in Turkish
  • Providing written informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Having advanced cognitive impairment such as dementia
  • Having hearing or speech problems that prevent communication
  • Being bedridden
  • Being in the terminal stage of illness
  • Participating in another intervention or education program at the same time
  • Having a serious physical or psychiatric condition that may prevent regular participation in the intervention

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Nurse-Led Telehealth-Supported Frailty Management Program
Participants in this arm will receive an 6-week nurse-led telehealth-supported multicomponent frailty management program in addition to usual care. The program includes an initial face-to-face assessment and weekly telephone counseling sessions focused on frailty awareness, physical activity and mobility support, nutrition and fluid intake counseling, fall prevention and home safety, sleep and fatigue management, self-management, and healthy lifestyle behaviors.
Behavioral: Nurse-Led Telehealth-Supported Multicomponent Frailty Management Program
The intervention is a structured 6-week multicomponent program delivered by a nurse. Following baseline assessment and individualized goal setting, participants will receive weekly telephone counseling sessions lasting approximately 20 to 25 minutes. The intervention covers frailty awareness, physical activity and mobility support, nutrition and fluid intake counseling, fall prevention and home safety, sleep and fatigue management, self-management, and healthy lifestyle behaviors. Intervention fidelity will be monitored using a standardized checklist.
No Intervention: Usual Care
Participants in this arm will continue their routine daily life and usual health care services. No structured frailty management intervention will be provided during the study period.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Frailty Level Assessed by the FRAIL Scale
Time Frame: Baseline, 6 weeks, and 18 weeks
Frailty level will be assessed using the FRAIL Scale. The FRAIL Scale consists of five components: fatigue, resistance, ambulation, illnesses, and weight loss. Total scores range from 0 to 5. Higher scores indicate greater frailty. A score of 0 indicates robust status, scores of 1 to 2 indicate pre-frailty, and scores of 3 to 5 indicate frailty.
Baseline, 6 weeks, and 18 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Functional Status Assessed by the Lawton-Brody Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale
Time Frame: Baseline, 6 weeks, and 18 weeks
Functional status will be assessed using the Lawton-Brody Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale. Total scores range from 0 to 8. Higher scores indicate greater independence in instrumental activities of daily living.
Baseline, 6 weeks, and 18 weeks
Depressive Symptoms Assessed by the 15-Item Geriatric Depression Scale
Time Frame: Baseline, 6 weeks, and 18 weeks
Depressive symptoms will be assessed using the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale. Total scores range from 0 to 15. Higher scores indicate more severe depressive symptoms. Scores of 0 to 4 indicate no depression, 5 to 8 indicate mild depression, 9 to 11 indicate moderate depression, and 12 to 15 indicate severe depressi
Baseline, 6 weeks, and 18 weeks
Number of Falls During the Study Period
Time Frame: From baseline to 18 weeks
The number of falls experienced by participants during the study period will be recorded using a fall and health care utilization form developed by the researchers. Data will be based on participant self-report. A higher number indicates more falls.
From baseline to 18 weeks
Number of Emergency Department Visits During the Study Period
Time Frame: From baseline to 18 weeks
The number of emergency department visits during the study period will be recorded using a health care utilization form developed by the researchers. Data will be based on participant self-report. A higher number indicates greater emergency health care utilization.
From baseline to 18 weeks
Number of Hospitalizations During the Study Period
Time Frame: From baseline to 18 weeks
The number of hospitalizations during the study period will be recorded using a health care utilization form developed by the researchers. Data will be based on participant self-report. A higher number indicates greater hospital utilization.
From baseline to 18 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Kutahya Health Sciences University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

June 5, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

October 15, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

October 15, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 4, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 4, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

June 8, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

June 8, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 4, 2026

Last Verified

May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • KSBU-FRAIL-RCT-2026-01

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Individual participant data will not be shared because the study involves older adults and contains sensitive health-related information. De-identified aggregate results may be reported in scientific publications.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Clinical Trials on Frailty

Clinical Trials on Nurse-Led Telehealth-Supported Multicomponent Frailty Management Program

Search Similar Trials

Sponsors and Collaborators

Medical Conditions

Drug Interventions

CROs by country

CROs in Nigeria

Conditions

Rare Diseases

Drug Interventions

Dietary Supplements

Sponsor/Collaborators

Locations

Subscribe