Evaluation of the functional capacity of elderly users of primary care in the municipality of Diamantina, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Abstract

Population aging is a growing phenomenon that deserves to be highlighted in the current situation in which the country and the world find themselves. The increase in life expectancy has brought a new challenge to the elderly, which is to age with quality of life, physically and mentally healthy. The functional capacity as well as the socioeconomic and demographic dimensions must be investigated so that this information provides support for the rehabilitation and recovery of this segment of the population. This study was a quantitative, cross-sectional and descriptive research, in which a questionnaire was used to characterize the elderly regarding their demographic, social and economic condition, together with internationally validated questionnaires that assessed functional capacity (Katz and Pfeffer). The elderly interviewed in this study were mostly female, aged between 60 and 93 years old, retired, married, most of them did not have health insurance, but had an illness diagnosed by a doctor; As for functional capacity, the majority of the sample proved to be independent. Understanding the aging process and seeking alternatives for providing care to the elderly today represents a challenge for everyone who works in public health services and society as a whole.