Abstract

Background: Frailty is a common geriatric condition associated with increased risks of falls, disability, and functional decline. Identifying modifiable factors, including home environmental hazards, may support frailty prevention and healthy aging among community-dwelling older adults. Objective: This study aimed to describe home environmental hazard levels across different frailty states and to examine their association with frailty among community-dwelling older adults in southern Thailand. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 98 older adults aged 60 years and above residing in Tha Sala District, Nakhon Si Thammarat Province. Frailty status was assessed using the Thai Frailty Screening Tool and categorized as non-frail, pre-frail, or frail. Home environmental hazards were evaluated using the Thai Home Falls Hazards Assessment Tool (Thai-HFHAT). Ordinal logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the association between home hazard scores and frailty status, adjusting for age, gender, body mass index (BMI), education level, marital status, and comorbidity. Results: Most participants across all frailty states lived in nonhazardous home environments. Higher home environmental hazard scores tended to be associated with more severe frailty status; however, this association did not reach statistical significance after adjustment. Education level was significantly associated with frailty, whereas age, gender, BMI, marital status, and comorbidity were not. Conclusion: Home environmental hazard levels vary across frailty states and may contribute to frailty vulnerability among older adults. Incorporating home hazard screening into community-based health assessments may support frailty prevention strategies and aging-in-place initiatives.