Edmonton Frail Scale (EFS): Assessing Frailty Status

The Edmonton Frail Scale helps clinicians assess frailty in older adults by reviewing health, memory, and independence. This brief test identifies risks to guide care planning.

Edmonton Frail Scale (EFS) PDF assessment form for evaluating frailty in older adults
EFS

Edmonton Frail Scale (EFS)

The Edmonton Frail Scale (EFS) is a multidimensional tool that assesses frailty in older adults. It evaluates factors like cognition, mobility, and social support to identify vulnerability. This instrument helps clinicians predict health risks and plan appropriate care, making it essential for patient safety.

Category

Mental health
Physical health
Mobility

Disease

Geriatrics
Assessment
Clinical Care

Source

(Rolfson et al., 2006)

Author Name

Rolfson, D.B., Majumdar, S.R., Tsuyuki, R.T., Tahir, A. & Rockwood, K. (2006)

What is Edmonton Frail Scale (EFS)

The Edmonton Frail Scale (EFS) is a reliable tool for checking frailty in older adults. It helps doctors spot health risks early on before they worsen. This valid instrument covers nine distinct domains to assess overall wellbeing. It moves past simple physical checks to give a full picture of how someone is coping every day. It asks about cognition, general health, functional independence, and social support. It also checks medication use, nutrition, mood, and continence. The scoring is straightforward, where higher numbers point to severe frailty and a much higher risk of falls. Clinicians really like that it is quick to use, often taking less than five minutes to finish. It doesn't need a geriatric specialist to run it, making it super handy for acute care or community settings. This helps teams plan better care and support for ageing patients who need it most.

EFS Scoring

The Edmonton Frail Scale can be scored using a single cumulative method. It looks at nine distinct areas like cognition, general health, and functional independence. For each domain, you assign points of 0, 1, or 2 based on how the patient goes with specific tasks or questions. Once you have finished the assessment, just tally the points for a total between 0 and 17. Higher scores suggest greater frailty risk. Results split into categories: 0 to 5 is not frail, 6 to 7 is vulnerable, and anything over 8 shows mild to severe frailty, helping teams tailor their support plans.

View scoring form

Advantages

User-friendly

Simple to understand and complete for patients.

Diagnostic accuracy

Enables precise identification of patient health status.

Treatment planning

Develops personalised strategies based on assessment data.

Wide applicability

Serves diverse clinical needs effectively.

5
Minutes
11
Questions

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