This indicates the need for studies aimed at resolving ambiguities regarding the use of the concept and, consequently, the development of a consensual definition to the phenomenon. The concepts, which are considered symbols of what happens in the real world of phenomena and they are tools for researchers and professionals, need to be clarified and defined in the perspective of being used with greater understanding of their meanings and, then, contribute for a better quality on nursing care.4
Thereby, a consensual definition of frailty in elderly people will favor health professionals, mainly nurses, in the construction of instruments for concept measuring and hence the basis for planning and implementing a better quality to care for the elderly, especially for those ones aged eighty or more. In relation to this matter, the objective of this study was to analyze the con- cept of frailty in the elderly, identifying possible antecedents (or predictors), critical attributes and consequences of the phenomenon.