Prevalence and factors associated with functional dependency in homebound elderly people in Brazil

Abstract

Introduction: Population ageing is a worldwide reality that requires attention, and a concern for healthy and functional ageing is increasingly the focus of government policies and programmes.Objective: To identify the prevalence of homebound elderly people, and the influence of sociodemographic and economic characteristics on their functional dependency. Methods:Cross-sectional study with 178 homebound elderly people assisted by a family healthcare unit in Vitória, ES, Brazil. Functional independence was measured by the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) and the sociodemographic and economic variables were collected by a questionnaire developed by the authors. Binary logistic regression was used to determine the influence of the sociodemographic and economic characteristics on the risk of being functionally dependent.Results: Forty-eight percent of the participants were functional dependents, 80% were female, 72% belonged to the fourth age, 74% were white, 63% were widowed, 78% had retired, 90% had children, 83% had a caregiver, 52% had low education and 40% had low income. Logistic regression indicated that having a caregiver increased by 40 times the chance of being functionally dependent (OR = 40.2; and having between one to eight years of education decreased the chance of functional dependency (OR = 0.2; 95%CI 0.04-0.9). Conclusions:The prevalence of functional dependency was very high in this sample, and since the presence of a caregiver was the strongest and significant predictor of functional dependency, we suggest that guidance and support should be offered to caregivers, followed by a family healthcare strategy, to make consistent efforts with the objective of improving functional recovery and independence of homebound elderly. Keywords Open acessSuggested citation: Pampolim G, Lourenço C, Silva VG, Coelho MCR, Sogame LCM. Prevalence and factors associated with functional dependency in homebound elderly people in Brazil. J Hum Growth Dev. 2017; 27(2): 235-243 J Hum Growth Dev. 2017; 27(2): 235-243 Prevalence and factors associated with functional dependency in homebound elderly people in BrazilIn the past few years, worldwide demographics have indicated intensive population ageing¹. In Brazil, according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, this ageing process has accelerated over the past decade and, by 2060, they expect that more than 30% of the Brazilian population will be 60 years old or more 2 . According to the Brazilian National Policy of Elderly Health, most of these elderly people will present some physical and/or mental disability that can impact upon their activities of daily living (ADLs). Therefore, the focus should be on the promotion of health and prevention of disabilities; this may be achieved through the Family Health Strategy (FHS) that works as a bridge between the health system and the elderly 3 , it has evolved into a robust approach to providing primary care for defined populations by deploying interdisciplinary health care teams. Family health t...

Fatores Associados À Funcionalidade Familiar De Idosos Assistidos Por Uma Unidade De Saúde Da Família De Vitória – Es

“…O cuidado para com o idoso deve envolver o indivíduo, a família e a comunidade na qual ele está inserido (RABELO; NERI, 2015). De acordo com Pampolim et al (2017), uma importante política voltada para população idosa, e que instrumentaliza este cuidado, devolvendo o protagonismo da família e incentivando o cuidado do idoso no seio de sua casa e comunidade é a Política Nacional de Saúde da Pessoa Idosa, que, além de observar esses aspectos, considera a Estratégia de Saúde da Família (ESF) como um importante elo de ligação entre o idoso e o Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS) (BRASIL, 2006).…”

Fatores Associados a Diferentes Níveis De Dependência Funcional Em Idosos Restritos Ao Lar

“…Segundo Ursine, Cordeiro e Moraes (2011), a restrição ao lar é a condição onde o idoso não sai de casa sem ajuda de terceiros. Entretanto, esta restrição pode ocorrer não apenas pela existência de dependência funcional, pois outras situações como a presença de doenças crônicas, residir em regiões com aclives e escadarias e uma possível superproteção da família e/ ou cuidador podem levar a essa condição (WHO, 2005;PAMPOLIM;SOGAME, 2018). Destaca-se que em pesquisa realizada por Pampolim et al (2017) apenas 48% da população idosa restrita ao lar apresentou dependência funcional.…”

“…Estudo realizado por Pampolim et al (2017) ao estudarem 178 idosos no mesmo território da presente pesquisa identificou uma prevalência de 48% de dependência funcional em idosos restritos ao lar. Destes ao serem incluídos na presente pesquisa, para avaliar o nível de dependência funcional verificou-se que a maioria dos idosos (56,4%) apresentaram dependência moderado/grave.…”

Quality of life in elderly people assisted by a family health unit / Qualidade de vida em idosos assistidos por uma unidade de saúde da família

“…5 Especially when taking into account the strong need for effective implementation of public policies for better attention to this population, with special emphasis on the Family Health Strategy, seen as a privileged space for this by understanding actions to promote general health welfare, promoting the practice of social coexistence through educational activities, as well as intervening in the living habits of this population. 6 In view of the above, and understanding the quality of life as an important aspect of healthy aging, as well as the sometimes negative role that biological, socioeconomic and physical factors can play in its reach, this study proposes to verify the factors associated with regular/negative perception of the quality of life among the elderly.…”