The global population is undergoing a demographic shift in its age structure, generating significant challenges, particularly for healthcare systems. Older adults face a higher risk of disease, resulting in greater demand for services. In this context, attention is directed to frail individuals, as frailty is a key condition associated with adverse health outcomes. To identify gaps in research, it is crucial to explore the evolution of the literature on frailty in healthcare. A query was formulated to conduct a bibliometric analysis, utilising the bibliometrix package in R. This analysis identified 772 articles from the Web of Science databases published until 31 December 2024. A growing interest in the subject was revealed by the analysis, with a significant increase in publications since 2018 and an annual growth rate of 15.4%. The annual scientific production shows three phases: 1992-2009, 2010-2018, and 2019-2024. The initial phase is characterised by a period of stability, with few publications and the formulation of initial definitions of frailty. The terms “nursing home admission” and “case management” reflect an organisational and clinical approach, supported by randomised studies. The second period sees a slight increase in publications, with multidisciplinary terms (comprehensive geriatric assessment, multimorbidity, polypharmacy, delirium) denoting a transition towards the inclusion of concomitant conditions and analyses of quality of life and cost-effectiveness. The third period includes topics related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the prediction of frailty and the impact of social aspects. The thematic evolution of the keywords in the documents highlights the shift from epidemiological and organisational aspects to a multidimensional and multidisciplinary approach. There is an increasing emphasis on the importance of frailty in healthcare planning and the development of specific interventions, as it is becoming increasingly important for understanding inequalities in access to healthcare services.
University of Florence, Italy
Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0002-9084-3081
University of Naples Federico II, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0001-5890-2195
Titolo del capitolo
Mapping the evolution of the relationship between frailty and healthcare utilisation among older adults in the scientific literature
Autori
Sara Rebottini, Giulia Cavrini, Agostino Stavolo
Lingua
Inglese
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-1062-1.60
Opera sottoposta a peer review
Anno di pubblicazione
2026
Copyright
© 2026 Author(s)
Licenza d'uso
Licenza dei metadati
Titolo del libro
Data, Statistics and AI for Well-Being of People and Organisations
Curatori
Luigi Fabbris, Alberto Franci, Pietro Renzi
Opera sottoposta a peer review
Numero di pagine
420
Anno di pubblicazione
2026
Copyright
© 2026 Author(s)
Licenza d'uso
Licenza dei metadati
Editore
Firenze University Press
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-1062-1
ISBN Print
979-12-215-1061-4
eISBN (pdf)
979-12-215-1062-1
eISBN (xml)
979-12-215-1063-8
Collana
Applied Statistics Series