Abstract
The objective of this study was to identify the relationship between social support and the functional capacity of elderly persons with cognitive alterations. It is a descriptive, cross-sectional and quantitative study. The subjects were 101 elderly persons registered in Family Health Centers whose performance in the Mini-Exam for Mental Status was below a certain specified level in a previous study. The Medical Outcomes Study questionnaire, Katz Index and Pfeffer Questionnaire were applied. The dimensions of material, affective, emotional, informational and positive social interaction support resulted in an average final score of 74.32 points, indicating a better level of material and affective support in relation to the other dimensions of support. There was a statistically significant correlation between emotional support and the Katz Index. Knowledge about this relationship favors the development of a nursing care pathway for the elderly which is capable of maintaining their functional capacity and ensuring satisfactory social relations.
Highlights
The entire world is aging, and the increase in the numbers of the elderly in the population has translated into a greater number of long-term problems, both for individuals and for society
Considering, that data referring to cognitive evaluation had been used in a previous study, which selected its subjects through a sampling procedure, the present study took as its population the total number of elderly persons evaluated in 2007 and who had obtained a Mini-Exam for Mental State (MEMS) result below the cut-off point according to level of schooling[15]
In relation to the evaluation of performance in basic and instrumental activities of daily living, even taking into account that the incidence of functional incapacity is similar between the sexes, its prevalence is generally higher among the women
Summary
The entire world is aging, and the increase in the numbers of the elderly in the population has translated into a greater number of long-term problems, both for individuals and for society. For the individual in particular, aging – allied with the presence of multiple chronic illnesses – is related directly with greater functional incapacity among the elderly. Functional capacity in the elderly is measured by their ability to carry out, independently, their routine activities, called the activities of daily living (ADL). Such activities are didactically divided into basic activities (BADLs) and instrumental activities (IADLs). Being independent in carrying out activities of daily living is of great importance in people’s lives, as it involves questions of an emotional, physical www.eerp.usp.br/rlae
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