Abstract
Objectives:
To identify compromised domains of the 36-Item Short Form Survey (SF-36) for elderly individuals with leg ulcers and correlate their clinical and sociodemographic variables with the SF-36's components.
Method:
Exploratory and cross-sectional study conducted with 50 elderly individuals with leg ulcers. The instruments were the sociodemographic and clinical form and the SF-36. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences was used to analyze data.
Results:
Most were married, retired, and received one times the minimum wage, were Caucasians or of mixed race, and had hypertension. In regard to the SF-36, the most compromised domain was physical limitations, while social aspects and general health status were the less compromised domains. The SF-36 domains were not correlated with age, income, duration or size of the lesion or pain.
Conclusion:
The ulcer-related biopsychosocial aspects need to be considered in order to devise more effective nursing interventions.
Keywords:
Health of the Elderly; Quality of Life; Leg Ulcer; Nursing
