Stop Frailty Before It Stops You

When you think of frailty, do you imagine an elderly man or woman stooping over a walker moving slowly, slowly? Frailty is not necessarily age-related, nor is frailty in old age a given, as you will find out in this program.

Meet Gurpreet Sandhu, who recently gave a workshop at New Westminster's Century House. Most of you know Century House is geared toward older people and provides many programs and services. She works for Self-Management BC, an offshoot of the University of Victoria's Institute of Aging and Lifelong Health.

Self-Management BC, which has existed for over 30 years, provides health coach support to people dealing with a variety of conditions – diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and chronic conditions.

The newest program, which is just getting underway, is about frailty. As Gurpreet explains, the research found that frailty was such an important issue for BC citizens, that the Director, Patrick McGowan, PhD, thought the program could become an important resource, even before all the research was completed. Gurpreet was the researcher involved.

You will soon find out that anybody at any age can become frail if they are not attending to their health and well-being. Frailty is a downward progression, that happens as you drop more and more activities, as you are unable to cope.

But, the good news, is that the downward spiral can be stopped. You will find out all about it by watching this program.

Programs are available for various diverse communities too, namely, Indigenous, Indian and Chinese.

Susan Millar

LJI Journalist