Sciensano conducts regular Health Interview Surveys. In the 2018 survey we measured for the first time the prevalence of frailty in the Belgian population aged 50 years and older. The instrument to measure frailty is the same as the one used in the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE).
Sciensano is also involved in an EU Joint Action that aims to develop successful prevention of frailty in older people. This action fosters collaboration among international partners to improve frailty prevention and management practices, and teams up with the political world to devise appropriate health policy strategies. The added value of this action is in joining forces at EU level: this includes the pooling of knowledge about the risk factors, improving definitions of frailty groups, fostering evidence-based interventions and exchanging good practices to manage frailty earlier in clinical or community settings and tailor interventions to individual’s needs.