Abstract
To analyze the socio-demographic and health conditions of the elderly living in the community and describe the pillars for the design of a rehabilitation nursing program in the community. Descriptive, cross-sectional study, with participation of 48 elderly selected by convenience sampling. Data collection took place between September 2018 and July 2019, in a health unit in northern Portugal, using a form. All the elderly have pathological processes and overweight. Most of them are sedentary, have feelings of loneliness and inappropriate relational behaviors. In the last six months, 25% have fallen at least once, with notable changes in balance, lifestyles and perceived health status. The need for rehabilitation nurses to design and implement active aging programs that ensure individual accompaniment of the elderly by valuing lifestyles, balance training and promotion of social participation was highlighted.
Highlights
Rehabilitation nurses providing care in the community are faced with the reality of an aging population, which, in addition to the pathologies that arise in the course of life, present problems associated with the aging process
The life expectancy of the Portuguese is more than 80 years old, and about one million elderly people are over 75 years old[2]
The predominance of cardiovascular, endocrine, musculoskeletal, psychiatric and respiratory diseases culminates in signs and symptoms that significantly deteriorate the quality of life of the elderly
Summary
Rehabilitation nurses providing care in the community are faced with the reality of an aging population, which, in addition to the pathologies that arise in the course of life, present problems associated with the aging process. In 2017, it was estimated that 962 million people worldwide were 60 years or older, representing 13% of the global population[1]. Along with the increase in life expectancy, there is a significant increase in chronic, degenerative and multi-morbid diseases, with implications for the functional and cognitive capacity and quality of life of older people[2], and this makes the assistance at this age by rehabilitation nurses distinguish itself in two pillars: one focusing on the most frequent and common disease processes; and the other on the promotion of healthy lifestyles, welfare promoters and active aging
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