Abstract

RODRIGUES, Rogério Manuel Clemente et al. The oldest old from Coimbra: Assessment of functionality in the physical health area. Rev. Port. Sau. Pub. [online]. 2016, vol.34, n.2, pp.163-172. ISSN 0870-9025.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rpsp.2016.05.002.

Context Concurrent with the aging process there is a decline of the individuals' physical health, by the interaction of numerous factors, which interferes with their activities of daily living and quality of life. Thus, it is essential to promote a multidimensional assessment to identify those factors and intervene early. Objective To assess the functional status in physical health area of individuals aged 75 years old or more from Coimbra. Method Quantitative, descriptive and correlational study with a random sample (stratified by gender, age and area of residence), composed by 1153 individuals. The questionnaire used was the Questionário de Avaliação Funcional Multidimensional para Idosos. The evaluation of physical health area involves number of physician visits, prescribed drugs, pathologies mentioned and their interference with activities, self‐evaluation vision and hearing, consumption of alcohol, and self‐rated physical health. Results In a period of six months, 89.5% of participants (90.0% men and 89.2% women) reported having had at least one physician visit. Hypertension was the most referred pathology (51.6%), followed by arthritis or rheumatism (49.5%). As for vision and hearing, 24.8% and 26.8%, respectively, answered that was poor. The women and individuals ≥85 years evaluated more negatively their physical health. Conclusion The knowledge of the functional capacity produced in this study area, conjugated with primary health care network, may be useful for screening, routing and addressing situations of disability.

Keywords : Demographic aging; Geriatric assessment; health.

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