Frailty tests for elderly at senior activity centres
Published: 08 Nov 2018
In February 2019, a team of researchers from NUS and the Geriatric Education and Research Institute will seek to delay or reverse frailty in 300 seniors in the community.
These seniors will undergo frailty screening at senior activity centres run by NTUC Health in Whampoa and Taman Jurong, and centres run by Presbyterian Community Services in Hougang and Tampines.
Those found to be frail will be enrolled in an exercise and nutrition programme for three months at St Luke’s Hospital in Bukit Batok. It involves weight and power training, dancing and monitoring their diets.
Those who are less frail will undergo similar programmes run by trained staff and volunteers at the senior activity centres.
Physically frail persons are two to 10 times more likely to be unable to carry out daily living activities, be hospitalised and die earlier than their robust counterparts, said Associate Professor Ng Tze Pin from NUS Medicine’s Department of Psychological Medicine. He had previously led a four-year study – the Singapore Frailty Interventional Trial – that showed that frailty can be reversed with good nutrition, physical activity and cognitive stimulation.
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