Document Type
Research Brief
Date
3-10-2016
Keywords
Older Adults, Healthcare, Decline
Language
English
Funder(s)
Aging Studies Institute, Syracuse University
Disciplines
Social Work
Description/Abstract
The changing landscape of health and healthcare in the United States continues to highlight certain limitations in the ability to understand the needs of vulnerable populations and provide adequate services. One of the challenges faced by researchers and service providers interested in the health and well-being of older adults is the absence of universal definitions of “vulnerability” or “frailty.” As a funder in the aging sector, in 2014 the Health Foundation for Western and Central New York (the Foundation) set out to identify working definitions to guide their work and to develop a conceptual model identifying factors with the potential to trigger frailty or functional decline in vulnerable community-dwelling older adults. The Foundation defines “frailty” as functional decline due to changes in physical, cognitive and/or mental health, and “vulnerable older adults” as people aged 60 or older that meet one or more of the following criteria: are at greater risk of decline, are in poverty, or are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid. In order to understand the specific triggers of decline, the Foundation partnered with Syracuse University Aging Studies Institute (ASI) and developed a new conceptual model called “Triggers of Decline.” This model identifies potential events or changes that can trigger a decline into frailty in vulnerable community dwelling older adults.
Recommended Citation
Brown, Maria Teresa and Williams, Kara, "Identifying Interventions to Address Triggers of Decline in Vulnerable Older Adults" (2016). Aging Studies Institute. 1.
https://surface.syr.edu/asi/1
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Rights
© 2016 Syracuse University. This publication may be distributed freely for educational and research purposes as long as this copyright notice is attached. No commercial use of this material may be made without express written permission.
Additional Information
This Policy Brief series is a collection of essays on current public policy issues in aging and related research published by Syracuse University Aging Studies Institute. Prior to 2014, this series was published as part of the Syracuse University Center for Policy Research (CPR) Policy Brief Series.