Functional capacity and quality of life of elderly people admitted to emergency service

Abstract

Objective: To correlate the functional capacity and quality of life of elderly people admitted to emergency service. Method: This is a cross-sectional and analytical study carried out with elderly patients admitted to a university hospital's emergency service in the city of São Paulo, between December 2015 and January 2017. Data were collected through interviews using a structured questionnaire, the Medical Outcome Study 36, the Katz of Independence in Activities of Daily Living, and the Functional Independence Measure. Results: Two hundred fifty elderly people with a mean age of 71.9 years, male (56.8%), white in color (67.2%), married (54.0%), with low education (32.0%), low income (58.0%), with comorbidities (81.2%) and home providers (53.6%) have participated. The most compromised Quality of Life dimensions were physical aspect (11.4%), emotional aspect (21.6%) and functional capacity (25.2%). Concerning functional capacity, independence was characterized for Basic Activities of Daily Living and moderate dependence for Instrumental Activities of Daily Living. The higher the scores of the Functional Independence Measure, the higher the quality of life scores. Conclusion: The more independent the elderly the better their quality of life.