Letter to the Editor: Frailty and Home Confinement during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Results of a Pre-Post Intervention, Single Arm, Prospective and Longitudinal Pilot Study.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic had severe consequences for older adults. First, COVID-19 was associated with more severe medical complications and an increased mortality rate in older compared to younger adults (1). Second, home confinement, an intervention that reduces the spread of COVID-19, was associated with adverse consequences for the older community-dwelling population (2). It broke down social networks and the continuum of primary care, resulting in medication or food delivery issues, psychological fallout and increasing frailty risks (3). Frailty assessment provides insight into the degree of older community dwellers’ health status vulnerability, social isolation and adverse health event risks, and it should be assessed before interventions are proposed (3). We designed a short assessment tool known as “Evaluation SOcio-GERiatrique” (ESOGER) for Montreal’s homebound community-dwelling older adults (3). In a phone call, ESOGER briefly assessed frailty and social isolation and provided recommendations, facilitating contact with health or social care providers who initiate appropriate health and social care plans (3). This study aims to examine the longitudinal effects of ESOGER on frailty and social isolation in Montreal’s homebound community-dwelling older adults.