Frailty, intrinsic capacity, functional ability: Linkages and implications for healthy ageing in Singapore

Maintaining functional ability, as well as preventing and managing frailty and declines in intrinsic capacity (one's physical and mental reserves)—these are some crucial ingredients in the recipe for living and ageing well.

How, then, do these three concepts relate to and complement each other? How can their linkages help to advance healthy ageing in Singapore and impact health policy and practice?

At the Duke-NUS Centre for Ageing Research and Education (CARE) Experts Webinar held on 19 Jan 2024, GERI's Executive Director, Associate Professor Ding Yew Yoong, shared three key ideas to distil wide-ranging research on this topic:

1.  "Along the trajectory of an older person's health and well-being, intrinsic capacity and frailty take on different significances." Intrinsic capacity is useful for health promotion efforts when community-dwelling older adults are still in good health. Frailty becomes more useful in guiding care efforts for older adults in health systems, when their health is in decline.

2. "Strengthening both intrinsic capacity and external environments can prevent declines in functional ability." In addition to maintaining their physical and mental reserves, older adults need supportive environments – which can take the form of caregiving, helpful technology and more – to continue doing the things that matter to them.

3. "Ultimately, systematic and intentional knowledge translation is needed to create research impact and change." For GERI, our Knowledge Translation Framework and four nodes of knowledge creation, dissemination, exchange and implementation seek to overcome the research-to-practice gap.

For more highlights from the webinar, view the full webinar recording here​. ​​​