Determinants of health perception in elderly living in the community

Abstract

The present study aims to meet the perception that the elderly have their health, to evaluate how often the elderly feel pain and check the therapeutic regimen, diagnosed pathologies, nutritional habits and dependence in activities of daily living. This is a cross-sectional study, exploratory  and descriptive study, using a convenience sample with 263 elderly individuals, with an average of 72.81 years (± 0.377 years), most men, 81.9%, refer to have companion and 59.9% of women claim to have companion. 18.1% of men and 25.2% of women reported not knowing how to read and write. The level of income the majority receives between 200 and 485 euros (58.6% of men and 65.3% of women). Attending day centers or recreational associations only 8.6% of elderly males and 12.9% of the female. Appealed to the Health Center three or more times in last 6 months (47.4% of men and 56.5% of women). Without changes to nutritional habits, with all the inoculations of the tetanus shot updated (93.2%). With chronic pathology, 97.4% of men and 98.0% of women. Most of the elderly says take 3 or take medicines daily (49.1% of men and 42.2% women) and 25.9% of men and 27.2% of women take 6 or more medicines. Claim their health status is reasonable, 45.7% of men and 55.1% of women, with a highly significant gender association (p = 0.000). Referred pain often arise 11.2% in males and 25.9% female, with a highly significant statistical association for gender (X2 = 22.208; df = 4; p = 0.000). In the basic activities of daily life (Katz Index), we found that, with the absence of inability or incapacity take arise 62.6% of respondents, with moderate disability, 29.0%, and with severe disability 8.4%. The differences are in the masculine gender when this has the absence of inability or incapacity light and in females when this has moderate inability (t =-3.105; p = 0.002). In Portugal there are still very few studies on the subject presented emerging being a larger number of investigations in the community context.