Supportive care model could be used to inform interventions and service development to improve quality of care for older people

Frailty is a distinctive late-life health state in which apparently minor stressors are associated with adverse health outcomes. Growing numbers of frail older people are being referred to hospitals with acute care needs;1 potentially heralding intensive health and social care services use. In a recent study by Nicholson et al, the authors suggest that supportive care (ie, ‘Multi-disciplinary holistic care of patients…and those that matter to them, to ensure the best possible quality of life’2) is a potentially important way to bridge the gap between curative models and palliative care. This paper aimed to identify and build on theories and evidence about supportive care, in relation to hospital care of older people with frailty, to inform future interventions and their evaluation.