Korean J Fam Med.  2021 Nov;42(6):413-424. 10.4082/kjfm.21.0162.

Clinical Practice Guidelines for Managing Frailty in Community-Dwelling Korean Elderly Adults in Primary Care Settings

• You HS
• Kwon YJ
• Kim S
• Kim YH
• Kim Ys
• Kim Y
• Roh Yk
• Park B
• Park YK
• Park CH
• Son JS
• Shin J
• Shin HY
• Oh B
• Lee Jw
• Shim JY
• Won CW
• Yoo JW
• Lee SH
• Kang HT
• Lee DC

• KMID: 2522856
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4082/kjfm.21.0162

Abstract

Aging has become a global problem, and the interest in healthy aging is growing. Healthy aging involves a focus on the maintenance of the function and well-being of elderly adults, rather than a specific disease. Thus, the management of frailty, which is an accumulated decline in function, is important for healthy aging. The adaptation method was used to develop clinical practice guidelines on frailty management that are applicable in primary care settings. The guidelines were developed in three phases: preparation (organization of committees and establishment of the scope of development), literature screening and evaluation (selection of the clinical practice guidelines to be adapted and evaluation of the guidelines using the Korean Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation II tool), and confirmation of recommendations (three rounds of Delphi consensus and internal and external reviews). A total of 16 recommendations (five recommendations for diagnosis and assessment, 11 recommendations for intervention of frailty) were made through the guideline development process. These clinical practice guidelines provide overall guidance on the identification, evaluation, intervention, and monitoring of frailty, making them applicable in primary care settings. As aging and “healthy aging” become more and more important, these guidelines are also expected to increase in clinical usefulness.

Keyword

Aging; Frailty; Primary Health Care; Clinical Practice Guidelines