Article co-authored by Alejandra Araya (MICARE associate researcher), Evelyn Iriarte (MICARE research assistant) and other authors.

Using the Comprehensive Frailty Model, a scoping review was conducted to identify frailty in older Hispanics in the US. A search of five major electronic databases was conducted: PubMed, Embase, Cumulative Index for Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) Plus, Scopus and PsycInfo.

Main findings:

A total of 1030 articles were identified. Most of the studies were longitudinal and the sample size varied considerably between studies. In terms of geographic distribution, most were conducted in the southwestern area of the US.

The studies included demonstrate that determinants of the life course may increase the risk of frailty in older Hispanic adults. Furthermore, the findings show that frailty is associated with several adverse outcomes such as disability, falls, high healthcare utilization, poor quality of life, and mortality.

The study concludes that more research is needed targeting older Hispanics of diverse origins in the US, especially from those larger populations (Mexican, Puerto Rican, and Central American).