Factors associated with functional capacity in older adults in emergency services

Abstract

Objective To relate sociodemographic, economic and clinical variables and having or not having a caregiver, risk for falls and perception of the risk for falls with the functional capacity of older adults in an Emergency Department. Methods Analytical cross-sectional study of 197 older adults conducted in the Emergency Department between September 2019 and March 2020. A questionnaire with sociodemographic, economic and clinical information was applied, as well as the instruments: Falls Risk Awareness Questionnaire, Morse Falls Scale, Katz Index and Lawton Scale. The Kruskal Wallis test was used to compare the Katz Index and the Lawton Scale, and the Spearman correlation coefficient was used to associate the Morse Falls Scale with continuous variables. The Mann-Whitney test and the Kruskal Wallis test were used to associate the Falls Risk Awareness Questionnaire with the categorical variables. Results Illiterate patients (p<0.0001) with lower income (p=0.0446) had a lower score on the Katz Index, that is, they presented a higher percentage of totally dependent people. Divorced older adults (p=0.0004) without a caregiver (p<0.0001) had a higher score on the Lawton Scale, that is, a greater degree of independence. The greater perception of risk for falls (p=0.0403) was associated with less independence for instrumental activities of daily living. The low risk for falls (p<0.0001) was associated with greater independence for instrumental activities of daily living. There was no association between perceived risk for falls (p=0.2693) and risk for falls (p=0.4984) with the Katz Index. Conclusion Lower education and income were associated with dependence for activities of daily living. Being divorced and not having a caregiver were associated with independence in instrumental activities of daily living. There was no association between the perception of risk for falls and the risk for falls with activities of daily living. The greater perception of risk for falls was associated with less independence, and the low risk for falls was associated with greater independence for instrumental activities of daily living.