• Gyte Damuleviciene, Vita Lesauskaite, Jurgita Knasiene, and Jūrate Macijauskiene.
• Department of Geriatrics, Kaunas University of Medicine, A Mickeviciaus 9, 44307 Kaunas, Lithuania. gytedamu@gmail.com
• Medicina (Kaunas). 2010 Jan 1;46 Suppl 1:35-42.

AbstractAlthough Lithuanian population is aging and the number of older persons is increasing, the expectancy of autonomous life is one of the shortest in Europe. An increasing number of the elderly results not only in aging society, but in increasing morbidity as well. Reality of life is encouraging health care systems to take into account the needs of older patients and to seek for comprehensive assessment, which is not limited by physical assessment only but includes evaluation of functional state, cognition, socioeconomic status, home environment, identification of geriatric syndromes and vulnerability factors, and assessment of frailty. The term "frailty" is used to describe the status of the elderly person who can usually perform the main practical and social daily tasks, but due to loss of various functions, changes, or disorders cannot restore quickly the strength. Concomitant diseases, disorders, disability, and frailty were considered as synonyms, but the researchers have recently agreed that these terms are not the same. The social part of supportive environment is composed of people (family, friends, professional caregivers) who provide help. The physical part includes technologies that make living easier and more autonomous. Gerontechnologies in vulnerable and frail elderly people can compensate impaired orientation and memory, widen the possibility to communicate, exchange information, and move. With the help of gerontechnologies, safe home environment and monitoring of health state can be ensured. In the article, algorithm for maintenance of autonomy in older persons made by the authors is presented.

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