Global functionality and associated factors in the older adults followed by Home Care in Primary Health Care.
Mariane Lurdes Predebon, Gilmara Ramos, Fernanda Laís Fengler Dal Pizzol and 3 others
PMID 34730759WHAT IT FOUND
Older adults in home care who had cognitive decline or were bedridden or wheelchair-bound were more likely to depend on others for daily activities.
Nurses can use these signs during home visits, but the study does not show that treating them improves function.
Key findings
01Only 15 older adults were independent for basic activities, and 52 had slight dependence.
02Cognitive decline and being bedridden or wheelchair-bound were associated with greater dependence in basic activities.
03Greater dependence in instrumental activities was associated with age 80 or older, single or divorced status, cognitive decline, mobility test time of 20 seconds or more, and being bedridden or wheelchair-bound.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The study was cross-sectional, so it cannot show that cognition or mobility problems cause dependence. It was done in one district of one Brazilian city, so it may not apply to other older home-care populations. People who could not communicate, had advanced dementia, or were institutionalized were excluded, so the sample may not represent the most dependent older adults. The instrumental activities cutoff was chosen by the study's own median score, not a standard clinical cutoff. Sociodemographic data were self-reported. Bedridden and wheelchair users did not perform the mobility test, so mobility categories were not based on the same measure for everyone.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the associations as evidence that improving cognition or mobility will reduce dependence. The study was cross-sectional and tested no intervention.