Functional status evaluation of older adults with moderate and severe unit belonging to a family health center

The purpose of this study was to assess the functional status of older adults with moderate and severe dependence from a family health center, applying scales to evaluate activities of daily living, cognitive level, educational level and caregiver burden. We evaluated 55 older adults with moderate and severe dependence. The Katz Index was used to determine the level of dependence, the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) was used for functionality and assistance provided by a third person, the Barthel Index was used to assess the independence, the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) was used for cognitive status and the Zarit scale was used for caregiver burden. The mean age was 84.4±7.8 years , and 74.5% of the subjects were female (25.5% male). According to the Barthel Index, 45% were classified with severe dependence; men had higher scores on the Barthel index and FIM. Cognitive impairment was present in 75% of the subjects according to MMSE, with a mean of 7.2±5.3 points. Women represented 85% of caregivers and 49% of these had greater burden. We obtained a significant correlation between motor FIM and Barthel Index (r=0.9710), cognitive FIM and MMSE (r=0.8148), and MMSE and educational level (r=0.6537). There was no correlation between age and cognition or functional independence. According to the data, most older adults with moderate and severe dependence have motor and cognitive impairment, which are correlated to the educational level of the subject.

Adult; Aged; Primary Health Care