**7. Conclusion**

Frailty elderly usually have dependence on self-care and need of support from others. Elderly does not mean frailty, but the ageing process led to frailty, which means that there are changes that reflect ageing-related alterations and involve intrinsic and extrinsic factors which are typical of ageing [4]. Usually, scales assess some domains of frailty in old people (cognition, general health status, functional independence, social support, medication usage, nutrition, mood, continence and functional performance). The occurrence of frailty is mainly a state of vulnerability resulting from comorbidities and the overall decline in organ functions. The progression to later stages of frailty often signals a loss of autonomy, dependence and reduction in physical and cognitive function.

#### *Frailty in the Elderly - Understanding and Managing Complexity*

Frailty is commonly positively related with caregiver burden and associated with higher levels of depression on the caregiver. A lack of understanding about frailty has been identified as a barrier to providing optimal care to elderly people. Self-care deficit theories suggest people are better able to recover when they maintain some independence over their own self-care. The evaluation of frailty is closely linked to the identification of dependencies in self-care. The use of frailty and self-care dependence assessment helps to determine the focus of attention, to respect vulnerability, to limit dependence as much as possible and to provide quality, safety and competent care.
