The role of the Sunfrail tool in the screening of frailty and in integrated community-hospital care pathways: a retrospective observational study.

Background: One of the most problematic expression of ageing is frailty, and an approach based on its early identification is mandatory. The Sunfrail-tool (ST), a 9-item questionnaire, is a promising instrument for screening frailty.

Aims: To assess the diagnostic accuracy and the construct validity between the ST and a Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA), composed by six tests representative of the bio-psycho-social model of frailty; To verify the discriminating power of five key-questions of the ST; To investigate the role of the ST in a clinical-pathway of falls' prevention.

Impact of Nutritional Status on Caregiver Burden of Elderly Outpatients. A Cross-Sectional Study.

The assistance to older community-dwellers provided by family caregivers is crucial for the maintenance of an acceptable quality of life, especially when dementia is present. The caregiver burden may be extremely high, but few data are available on what patient domains mainly affect the caregiver. The aim of this cross-sectional study, performed in older outpatients, was to examine the impact of cognitive, physical and nutritional status of elderly community-dwellers on the caregiver burden, as evaluated by the Caregiver Burden Inventory (CBI).

Short-Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) score is associated with falls in older outpatients.

Background: The capacity of Short-Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) test to discriminate between fallers and non-fallers is controversial, and has never been compared with fall risk assessment-specific tools, such as Performance-Oriented Mobility Assessment (POMA).

Aim: To verify the association of SPPB and POMA scores with falls in older outpatients.

Methods: 451 older subjects (150 males, mean age 82.

Muscle weakness, cognitive impairment and their interaction on altered balance in elderly outpatients: results from the TRIP observational study.

Background: The determinants of altered balance in older subjects and, particularly, the contribution of muscle strength and cognitive impairment are still uncertain. We hypothesized that both these conditions and their interactions could affect balance in older persons. To address this hypothesis, we studied the cross-sectional association between handgrip strength and balance performance in subjects with and without cognitive impairment.

Cultural Competence Assessment Instrument: Initial Italian validation and proposed refinement.

Background And Aim Of The Work: Italy has become a target of immigration in the last three decades. Accordingly, the Italian population is progressively changing, becoming increasingly culturally different. Cultural competences are a fundamental requirement for many industries and, especially, for healthcare organizations.