Why you should read this article:

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To enhance your understanding of the concept of frailty and risk factors for frailty

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To increase your knowledge of how to assess, prevent and reduce frailty

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To contribute towards revalidation as part of your 35 hours of CPD (UK readers)

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To contribute towards your professional development and local registration renewal requirements (non-UK readers)

Frailty is a distinctive health state and a life-limiting syndrome seen in older people and in those living with multiple long-term conditions. It is likely that every nurse will encounter patients living with frailty in their clinical practice, even more so if they work in older people’s nursing. People living with frailty are more vulnerable than others to stressors and insults due to a decline in their physiological reserve and function. There are tools that can be used to assess people’s frailty or risk of frailty and interventions that can be used to prevent or reduce frailty. This article describes frailty and explains how to assess, prevent and reduce it. The article also outlines the relationship between frailty and coronavirus disease 2019 and the frailty trajectory at the end of life.