Estudos da funcionalidade de pessoas idosas durante a transição hospital-domicílio

Abstract

The study aimed to compare the functionality of elderly people before, during and two months after hospitalization. This is an observational, cohort study, linked to the matrix research “Hospital–home transitional care for adults and elderly people”. It was carried out in the wards of a University Hospital and in the homes of elderly people who needed the help of caregivers/family members, after hospital discharge. Data collection took place between February 2023 and January 2024 in three stages, the first two during hospitalization and the third in the second month after hospital discharge. Hospitalized people were evaluated regarding functionality considering: mobility at four moments (M0 to M3), functional independence, activity and social participation at two moments (M0 and M3): before (M0), during (M1 and M2) and two months after the high (M3). The comparison between moments of mobility used the Fridman test. For functional independence, activity and social participation, the Wilcoxon test was used. The project was approved by the Ethics and Research Committee under opinion no. 5,754,122 of 11/1/2022. 61 elderly people were included, with an average age of 69.57 years, 50.8% female, 64% admitted due to cardiovascular and neurological problems. Twenty-three participants completed follow-up two months after discharge. From the sample, 27.9% lost mobility between M0 and M2 and 13% between M2 and M3 (95% CI, P= 0.00), 26.1% lost functional independence between M0 and M3 (95% CI, P= 0.60) and 35.1% lost activity and social participation (95% CI, P= 0.59) between M0 and M3. Hospitalization can cause damage to the functionality of elderly people in Brazil. Functional status should be monitored during hospitalization and after discharge. The research contributes to the understanding of functional decline in this population, alerting health professionals, especially physiotherapists, to develop actions to maintain and recover functionality in elderly people. Also warn about the need to strengthen the health care network in the SUS with rehabilitation services, to improve this population's limited access to restorative therapies after hospitalization.