Medisur (Jun 2012)
Characterization of Frail Elderly and their Caretakers
Abstract
Background: Geriatric care is aimed at preventing the limitation and dependence of the elderly, improving their life quality and functional capacity of taking care of themselves and conducting personal development within their families and societies. Objective: To characterize frail elderly and their caretakers. Methods: Descriptive study conducted in Area 6 Polyclinic of Cienfuegos, which included 75 elders considered as fragile according to the functional assessment scale, and 62 caretakers. For the elderly, the following variables were analyzed: age, sex, personal medical history and overall functional classification according to general condition. For caretakers the following variables were analyzed: age, sex, occupational category and information level. Results: Among the elderly, the group from 70 to79 years old prevailed (41.3%), with little variation according to sex. Visual deficits predominated (89, 9%), as well as hypertension (66, 6%) and diabetes mellitus (30, 6%) in personal medical records. 48% reached a two in the geriatric functional assessment scale. Among caretakers, the highest percentage was in ages from 40 to 59 years old, predominantly women, most of them self-employed. Conclusions: In the geriatric functional assessment scale, the assessment category number two prevailed. Among caretakers, the highest percentage is among the age range still apt for active working life (40 to 59 years old), predominantly women. Generally, when exploring the level of information on elderly care, it proved not to be the appropriate
