This study aims to understand the impact of the social environment ( family, friends, community or the services available) in the development of frailty in elderly people. It has two main objectives: on the one hand, to observe how frailty develops over time depending on the social environment where each person lives, and on the other hand, to understand how elderly people perceive the social environment’s role in their health and wellbeing, considering differences in gender and the level of fragility.

The study is innovative in addressing this issue from a longitudinal perspective and in combining the expertise of professionals from different areas, including medicine, psychology, sociology, occupation therapy, nursing and social work. This collaborative approach ensures a more comprehensive understanding about a very complex phenomenon like frailty in older people, particularly in Latin America, where research on this issue is lacking.

Principal investigator: Alejandra Araya.