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Functional status of the oldest‐old in a home setting
Author(s) -
Krach Peg,
DeVaney Sharon,
DeTurk Colleen,
Zink Mary Helen
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
journal of advanced nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.948
H-Index - 155
eISSN - 1365-2648
pISSN - 0309-2402
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2648.1996.02124.x
Subject(s) - spouse , activities of daily living , gerontology , medicine , mental health , psychological intervention , geriatric depression scale , scale (ratio) , depression (economics) , social support , psychology , psychiatry , cognition , depressive symptoms , physics , quantum mechanics , sociology , anthropology , economics , psychotherapist , macroeconomics
The purpose of this cross‐sectional study was to examine six domains of functioning physical, mental, social, spiritual, economic and activities of daily living The primary inclusion criteria at the time of recruitment were that participants be over the age of 85, be cognitively intact, and be living in a home setting Instruments used for the study included the Older Americans Resource Survey (OARS), Mini‐Mental Status Examination (MMSE), Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), Spiritual Well Being Scale (SWBS) Fifty subjects, mean age 89 years, lived alone (65%) or with their spouse (22%) in their homes Person's correlation analysis found significant relationships among physical, mental, social, economic and activities of daily living Good to excellent functioning was found in the mental (82%) and social (82%) domains Highest functional impairments were identified with ability to carry out activities of daily living (72%) and in the domains of physical functioning (55%) Common chronic illnesses reported were arthritis (56%), hypertension (46%) and cardiac problems (30%) The average daily use of prescribed drugs was three times and over‐the‐counter use was once per day Eleven per cent of subjects were mildly (7%) or moderately (4%) depressed Subjects reported that they needed visiting nurses (29%), home health aides (20%) and help with shopping (24%) and transportation (24%) The data suggest that multidimensional assessment is necessary to identify nursing interventions that will regain, maintain or enhance functioning among oldest‐old people