Understanding Frailty: A Nurse's Guide.

Frailty is a public health crisis for an aging society. As a concept and condition, frailty is poorly understood and underrecognized in clinical settings. Nurses play an important role as frontline providers who care for aging adults. The aim of this article is to raise awareness among nurses about frailty and to discuss the recognition and management of this prevailing condition. The authors present conceptual definitions and models of frailty, a brief discussion of the underlying biological mechanisms and evidence-based interventions for frailty identification, and approaches to delay and decrease the burden of frailty.