A proposal of Occupational Therapy service to hospitalized elderly patients

• Main Authors: Mariana Boaro Fernandez Canon, Tatiana Vieira do Couto
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade Federal de São Carlos 2014-09-01
• Series: Cadernos de Terapia Ocupacional
• Subjects: Aged; Hospitalization; Chronic Disease; Occupational Therapy.
• Online Access: http://www.cadernosdeterapiaocupacional.ufscar.br/index.php/cadernos/article/view/1068

Introduction: The association between chronic diseases, functional dependency, and hospitalization represents a high risk for the elderly, because it contributes to decreased functional capacity. Objectives: This study aimed to describe an action protocol of Occupational Therapy with hospitalized elderly patients with diagnosis of chronic diseases, approaching sensory, cognitive, psychomotor and functional aspects, and to analyze whether this protocol maximizes the independence for the feeding activity. Methodology: Patients hospitalized in a Geriatric Ward, between December 2011 and February 2012, were selected according to inclusion criteria. After conduction of the intervention protocol, a functional evaluation, Functional Independence Measurement (FIM – motor part), was performed approaching sensory, cognitive, psychomotor and functional aspects. There were 10 sessions with average duration of 30 minutes, the first and the last ones for the assessment and orientation. Six (6) hospitalized elderly patients were selected: 5 females and 1 male, mean age of 88.8, 5.3 years of schooling. Results: The scoreboard mean for the feeding item of the FIM before hospitalization was 2.7 points, it dropped to 1.5 points in the first days of hospitalization, and then increased to 3.8 points after the intervention of Occupational Therapy. The scoreboard means for the motor part of the FIM before hospitalization, during the first days, and after the intervention were: 26.8, 16 and 23.2 points, respectively. Conclusions: All the elderly benefited from this protocol and started to perform more independently not only the activity of feeding, but also the other basic activities of daily living, when compared to the first days of hospitalization.