Pain intensity among institutionalized elderly: a comparison between numerical scales and verbal descriptors

AbstractOBJECTIVECorrelating two unidimensional scales for measurement of self-reported pain intensity for elderly and identifying a preference for one of the scales.METHODA study conducted with 101 elderly people living in Nursing Home who reported any pain and reached ( 13 the scores on the Mini-Mental State Examination. A Numeric Rating Scale - (NRS) of 11 points and a Verbal Descriptor Scale (VDS) of five points were compared in three evaluations: overall, at rest and during movement.RESULTSWomen were more representative (61.4%) and the average age was 77.0±9.1 years. NRS was completed by 94.8% of the elderly while VDS by 100%. The association between the mean scores of NRS with the categories of VDS was significant, indicating convergent validity and a similar metric between the scales.CONCLUSIONPain measurements among institutionalized elderly can be made by NRS and VDS; however, the preferred scale for the elderly was the VDS, regardless of gender

Funkcjonowanie społeczne ludzi starszych zamieszkujących obszary wiejskie

Background. The aim of this work was to assess social functioning of elderly people living in rural areas. Material and methods. The authors used own interview questionnaire to collect the data. The study was conducted in 504 citizens, older than 65 years, from eight villages. Results. Women were more frequently widowed than men, had low educational level and lived alone. As most responses showed (51.98%), the received benefits did not cover the respondents’ current needs and 5.95% of them claimed that they were insufficient. The remaining respondents, i.e. 42.06%, stated that the available resources fulfilled their needs. The respondents would also point to family’s aid (n=411; 81.55%) or spouse’s aid (n=147; 29.56%). Only 37 people benefited from social care (n=504; 7.34%), of which 24 (64.86%) claimed that the help provided by social care was insufficient. Conclusions. Old women in rural areas tend to live alone more frequently, are widowed and have lower level of education than men. The received financial benefits do not fully cover current needs of older residents of rural areas regardless of sex. Among people of over 65 years living in rural areas, the majority (81.55%) would point to family support and only 2.18% indicated social care as a source of income.Wprowadzenie. Celem pracy była ocena funkcjonowania społecznego osób w podeszłym wieku zamieszkujących obszary wiejskie. Materiał i metody. Dane w badaniu zostały zebrane przy pomocy autorskiego kwestionariusza. Badania ankietowe przeprowadzono wśród 504 obywateli ośmiu wsi u osób powyżej 65 roku życia. Wyniki. Kobiety były częściej wdowami niż mężczyźni, miały niski poziom wykształcenia i żyły samotnie. Zgodnie z większością odpowiedzi (51,98%), otrzymane świadczenia nie pokrywają bieżących potrzeb, 5,95% badanych stwierdziło, że zasoby były niewystarczające. Pozostała liczba respondentów 42,06% stwierdziła, że zasoby zaspokajają ich potrzeby. Najczęściej wskazywano na pomoc rodziny (n = 411; 81,55%) lub współmałżonka (n = 147, 29,56%). Tylko 37 osób korzystało z pomocy społecznej (n = 504; 7,34%), spośród których 24 osoby (64,86%) twierdziły, że pomoc zapewniona przez opiekę społeczną jest niewystarczająca. Wnioski. Starsze kobiety żyjące na obszarach wiejskich częściej mieszkają samotnie, są wdowami i mają niższe wykształcenie niż mężczyźni. Wszystkie otrzymywane korzyści finansowe nie w pełni pokrywają bieżące potrzeby starszych mieszkańców obszarów wiejskich bez względu na płeć. Wśród osób powyżej 65 roku życia mieszkających na obszarach wiejskich większość (81,55%) wskazała pomoc rodzinną, a 2,18% wskazało opiekę społeczną jako źródło wsparcia

The need for home-based geriatric care and physical, mental, and social functioning of seniors of over 65 years of age

Introduction: The increased percentage of seniors observed within society establishes new challenges for healthcare systems. Aim of the research : To estimate the need for geriatric, home-based care for people over 65 years of age living in rural areas, in the context of physical, mental, and social functioning. Material and methods: The research methods included the diagnostic poll method and direct observation. The following research tools were used: Barthel Index, Lawton Index, Abbreviated Mental Test Score by Hodkinson, Geriatric Depression Scale Short Form, and an authorial interview questionnaire. The criterion for home-based geriatric care was to be declared as a geriatric patient. The research was carried out among 504 people in the ages of 66 to 94 years (average: 77.41 years). Results: For home-based geriatric care, significantly more women than men were qualified (p < 0.01). The average age of respondents qualified for home-based geriatric care was higher than the age of other test subjects (p < 0.001). Subjects qualified for home-based geriatric care were more often widowed (p < 0.001) with incomplete primary education (p < 0.001) and substantially were living alone (p < 0.05). Among the people qualified for home-based geriatric care there were more multi-diseases, worsened agility to perform basic and complex daily life activities, and worsened cognitive and emotional performance (p < 0.001) than with other test subjects. Conclusions : For home-based geriatric care, a third of seniors living in rural areas were qualified. The need for home-based geriatric care was determined by suffering from multi-diseases, having functional, emotional, and cognitive disorders, progressing age, being female, having low education, and being widowed