| dc.description.abstract | Introduction: The various physiological changes that accompany aging, associated with the development of chronic-degenerative diseases and their sequels, lead to functional decline, which can culminate into the loss of independence and autonomy of the elderly. Functional decline is the most important indicator of threat of vulnerability for the elderly. Functional capacity can be assessed by Basic Activities of Daily Living (BADL) and by Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL). The loss of independence in executing these activities characterizes the functional disability or dependence. Homes for aged are establishments that promote long-term care for elderly whose families do not have financial, physical or emotional means to carry it out. Often, those are the final destination of the elderly with varying degrees of dependency. Aim: To analyze the health and functional conditions of elderly living in philanthropic homes for aged convened to Belo Horizonte`s town hall. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study, observational and quantitative, which methodology consisted of semi-structured interviews with elderly residents of homes for aged and their caregivers. The sample size (n) required for a confidence level of 95%, with a margin of error of 4.8% was calculated, being obtained a value of 207 individuals. Single-stage cluster sampling was used to select homes for aged resulting in six institutions: Lar Cristo Rei, Cidade Ozanan Obra Unida, Lar Santa Gema Galgani, Lar Recanto Feliz, Casa das Vovós and abrigo Frei Otto, which combined together a capacity for 236 elderly, satisfying the sample size calculated. Data collection was performed in the selected institutions in January and February of 2017. The research instruments were applied individually, through an interview, using the following: sociodemographic questionnaire, Clinical- Functional Vulnerability Index-20 (IVCF-20), which allows identification of the severity of clinical-functional vulnerability, and the Katz Scale, which assesses the degree of dependence for BADL. Descriptive analysis of data was performed by distribution of frequencies for the categorical variables and by measures of central tendency and dispersion for the continuous variables. In bivariate analysis, the Qui-Square test of independence was used to evaluate if there is statistical association between the qualitative variables. A correlogram was used to evaluate the correlation between the quantitative variables as well as to inform the statistical significance. In order to find out which variables were statistically different between independent and dependent elderly according to Katz`s classification, the Mann Whitney U test was used. Results: The results were presented in form of a scientific article and will be published in a health journal. The study included 212 elderly. Most of the elderly analyzed were single (61,79%), women (76,9%), and caregivers insufficiency was the main cause of institutionalization (60,84%). There was a prevalence of recurrent falls of 23,11% and mean walking speed of 0,56m/s. The majority of the elderly (80,2%) were classified as high risk for clinical-functional vulnerability and 88,67% presented impairment of at least one BADL. Polypharmacy was quite frequent in the studied group: 77,83% of elderly had regular use of 5 or more medications, with 6,7 being the average daily consumption per elderly. Forgetfulness enough to limit daily activities was present in 42.5% of the elderly. The degree of dependency for ADL showed association with age, length of institutionalization, diagnosis of cognitive impairment, nutritional status and mobility. The clinical-functional vulnerability demonstrated association with age, diagnosis of cognitive impairment, the manner in which elderly came to institution and the dependence for ADL. Positive correlations were observed between the IVCF and the total of ADL in which dependence occurs (strong degree), as well as between IVCF and age (weak degree). Negative correlations were identified between gait speed and total ADL in which dependence occurs (strong correlation) as well as between gait velocity and IVCF (moderate). Conclusion: The prevalence of vulnerability and functional dependence was high among elderly in the homes for the aged analyzed. IVCF-20 and Katz Index presented good correlation and are useful in identifying frail elderly and the ones with increased risk of functional decline in homes for aged. The prevention of functional limitations should be addressed in multiprofessional interventions directed at the elderly. | |
