Functional assessment of older adults

Abstract

Introduction: the functional status at different ages is the result of the interaction of biological, psychological and social elements; it is probably the most accurate indicator of the wellbeing of the individual throughout the aging process. Objective: to assess the functional status of the older adults belonging to the No-5 Doctor’s Office at Hermanos Cruz Polyclinic, Pinar del Río municipality in 2017. Methods: an observational, descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted with a target group comprising 151 older adults and a simple random sample of 110 who met the inclusion criteria, applying theoretical and empirical methods. To collect the information, family and individual health histories were analyzed. A questionnaire was also applied, always considering the voluntary nature and acceptance of the people included in the research, based on the Geriatric Functional Assessment Scale (GFAS), as well as on the Katz Index of Basic Activities of Daily Life (BAODL) and the Lawton-Brody Scale of Instrumented Activities of Daily Life. Results: the age group from 60 to 64 years (28.1 %), and female gender (54.5 %) predominated, extended family pattern prevailed (70 %), hypertension prevailed (73.6 %) resulted in the prevailing pathological antecedent. Conclusions: functional assessment of older adults will allow establishing strategies to improve the quality of life of this important group of population.

Keywords

• envejecimiento
• evaluación geriátrica
• salud del anciano
• atención integral de salud
• prevención de accidentes.