ENGAGE (Forschungsprojekt der Universität Basel)

Frailty is a major public health challenge. Frailty is a multidimensional syndrome in which a person accumulates impairments in multiple life domains due to ageing. Examples include physical impairments (e.g. reduced mobility), social status (e.g. social isolation) and cognition impairment. Frailty predisposes a person to negative health outcomes and is associated with long-term disability, a lower quality of life, and high costs. As impairments accumulate, persons are less able to participate in society, interact with their direct environment, and become socially isolated. Social isolation contributes to social frailty and physical frailty. Both frailty and social isolation can therefore be considered key outcomes for novel public health solutions.