A qualitative study regarding older people's goals of care in relation to frailty status: finding meaning in 'smaller things' in life.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Increasingly frailty assessment is part of the shared decision-making process of older patients. However, little is known of the role of frailty in goals of care among the diverse group of older persons.

Objective

To explore the role of frailty in older people's perspectives on goals of care in case of acute and/or severe disease.

Methods

We conducted semi-structured interviews with people aged ≥70 years in the Netherlands (n = 26), which were purposively sampled based on a self-reported Clinical Frailty Scale. The interviews were analysed using thematic content analysis to compare frailty subgroups.

Results

Three themes regarding goals of care emerged: (1) preserving well-being in one's lifeworld through life goals; (2) goals related to care, as acc

SUBMITTER: van der Klei VMGTH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11840562 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature