Development and Testing a Measure of Experienced Frailty for Community-Dwelling Older Adults: The Frailty Experiences Scale (FES)

This study aimed to develop a measurement instrument of frailty experiences, the Frailty Experiences Scale, in community-dwelling older adults and test its psychometric properties. The process involved three steps: expert sessions (n = 10) to assess face and content validity; think-aloud interviews (n = 5) with older adults > 60 years to check feasibility and comprehensibility; and testing the scale (N = 187) among older adults (71.9 ± 7.8; 65% female; 70.4% highly educated) to assess internal consistency and structure. The layout and instructions facilitated easy administration. Factor analysis confirmed the four-dimension structure (physical, psychological, social, and cognitive) and showed good reliability (Cronbach’s alpha = .872). Items six, nine, and 16 were removed due to poor contribution, low or negative factor loadings. The cognitive subscale contributed the least. The Frailty Experiences Scale is a feasible and reliable instrument for measuring experienced frailty in older adults, with promising implications for research and practice.