Evaluation of functional capacity in elders with encephalic vascular accident

Objective: To evaluate the functional capacity of elders with encephalic vascular accident (EVA) and to examine the association between sociodemographic variables and functional capacity, Methods: Interviews with 44 elders who had EVA were conducted during their assessment and treatment in the data collection settings. The instrument contemplated clinical and social-demograpic variables. Functional Independence Measure (FIM) was used to measure the subjects' functional capacity Results: Most subjects were between 60 and 69 years of age. The MIF had good internal consistency reliability estimate. Subjects had a mean score of 97.0 on FIM. Mann-Whitney test indicated that participants who had access to health care services had higher FIM scores than individuals without health care access. Pearson's correlation analysis indicated a significantly negative correlation coefficient between age and FIM score. Conclusion: Encephalic vascular accident is associated with alterations in functional capacity of the sample of this study. This finding suggests the need for the use of effective rehabilitation strategies to help individuals who have decreased functional capacity clue to normal aging and/or sequela to encephalic vascular accident.22566667

Correlação entre instrumentos de qualidade de vida relacionada à saúde e independência funcional em idosos com insuficiência cardíaca Correlation between instruments for measuring health-related quality of life and functional independence in elderly with heart failure

Este estudo teve como objetivo identificar a correlação entre as medidas de qualidade de vida relacionada à saúde e independência funcional em idosos com insuficiência cardíaca. Fizeram parte do estudo 146 idosos com insuficiência cardíaca em tratamento ambulatorial, que responderam ao Minnesota Living With Heart Failure Questionnaire (LHFQ) e à Medida de Independência Funcional (MIF). Foi utilizado o coeficiente de correlação de Spearman para verificar a correlação entre as medidas de qualidade de vida relacionada à saúde e MIF, e entre estas e a Classificação Funcional da New York Heart Association (CF-NYHA). Foram constatadas correlações significantes de moderada magnitude entre as dimensões física e emocional do LHFQ e as subescalas total e motora da MIF. Os resultados evidenciaram que a qualidade de vida relacionada à saúde e independência funcional são conceitos correlacionados e influenciados pela CF-NYHA. Os resultados sugerem que ações voltadas à promoção da independência funcional podem otimizar a qualidade de vida relacionada à saúde de idosos com insuficiência cardíaca, especialmente na dimensão física. São necessários novos estudos com ampliação da amostra, inclusão de pacientes de faixa etária mais elevada e com maior gravidade da doença, para verificar a reprodutibilidade destes achados.<br>The main purpose of this study was to identify the correlation between health-related quality of life and the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) in elderly patients with heart failure. 146 elderly outpatients completed the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (LHFQ) and the FIM. Spearman correlation coefficient was used to identify correlations between health-related quality of life and FIM, and between them and New York Heart Association (NYHA) class. Statistically significant moderate correlations were found between physical and emotional LHFQ and total FIM and motor subscale. The results show that quality of life and functional independence are correlated concepts influenced by NYHA class and suggest that measures to promote functional independence (especially in the physical domain) can improve health-related quality of life in elderly patients with heart failure. Further research should include a larger sample and older patients with greater disease severity in order to verify the reproducibility of these findings

Confiabilidade do Perfil de Saúde de Nottingham após acidente vascular encefálico Reliability of the Nottingham Health Profile after suffering a stroke

O artigo tem o objetivo de avaliar a confiabilidade, a consistência interna e a concordância do instrumento de qualidade de vida (QV) Perfil de Saúde de Nottingham (PSN) em indivíduos após Acidente Vascular Encefálico (AVE). Estudo do tipo transversal realizado em comunidades da Cidade do Recife-PE. A amostra foi composta por 53 indivíduos na fase crônica do AVE. Após verificação do estado cognitivo foi aplicado o PSN. Utilizou-se estatística descritiva para caracterizar a amostra; a consistência interna foi medida através do alfa (&#945;) de Cronbach; a confiabilidade com o coeficiente de correlação intraclasse (CCI) e a concordância pelo teste de plotagem Bland and Altman, com nível de significância de 5%. A percepção dos indivíduos sobre suas saúdes teve uma tendência positiva em 83,3% dos domínios do PSN (média > 50 pontos), exceto para o domínio "habilidades físicas" que variou entre 41,5 e 50 pontos. O instrumento obteve boa consistência interna, com &#945; entre 0,81 e 0,87; excelente confiabilidade nos domínios "dor" e "habilidades físicas", ICC >0,90 (p <0,01); e concordância em 95% das ocasiões. O PSN, além de ser um instrumento simples e de fácil aplicação, apresentou propriedades clinimétricas adequadas para avaliar a QV de indivíduos pós-AVE na fase crônica.<br>This article seeks to evaluate the reliability, internal consistency and accuracy of the Nottingham Health Profile (NHP), namely a quality of life (QL) instrument for individuals after suffering a stroke. This cross-sectional study was carried out in the communities of Recife in the State of Pernambuco. The sample was composed of 53 individuals at the chronic stroke phase. After checking the cognitive state, the NHP was applied. Descriptive statistics were employed for characterization of the sample; Cronbach's alpha (&#945;) coefficients were used for evaluation of internal consistency, and intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC) were used for investigation of reliability, as well as consistency of the Bland and Altman plotting tests with 5% level of significance. Their perceptions of their own health were 83.3% positive for the majority of NHP criteria (average scores > 50 points), except for the "physical ability" criterion where scores ranged between 41.5 and 50 points. The NHP had good internal consistency with &#945; values between 0.81 to 0.87; excellent reliability indices for the "pain" and "physical ability" criteria (ICC > 0.90); and 95% consistency. Besides being simple and easily applied, NHP had adequate clinimetric properties for the assessment of individuals after a chronic stroke