Multi-Faceted Evaluation of Psychosocial Function of Elderly Subjects

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIMS: With aging, physical, psychological and social changes occur and individuals lose their independence and become semi-or full dependent. Accordingly, physical, psycho-social problems can be seen in the older people and their functionality decreases. For this reason, the study was carried out for the purpose of multidimensional evaluation of cognitive and psycho-social functions of older people. MATERIALS and METHODS: The study was conducted between April 2018 and November 2018. This descriptive and cross-sectional study was performed in two different family health centers in Mardin province. The research was completed with a total of 200 older people who agreed to participate in the study. The data were collected using “Patients Information Form”, “Katz Index of Independence in Activities of Daily Living (Katz ADL)” and “Multidimensional Observation Scale for Elderly Persons (MOSES)”. The number, percent, mean, Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis test and Spearman correlation analysis were used in the data analysis. RESULTS: The mean age of participants was 70.03±8.48 years. 54.2% of older people were female and 45.8% were male. The mean score of Multidimensional Observation Scale for Elderly Persons was 24.36±22.38. The mean score of the Katz Index of Independence in Activities of Daily Living was 16.32±3.14. There was a weak positive correlation between age and Multidimensional Observation Scale for Elderly Persons (p<0.001, r=0.43), and a moderate negative correlation was found between Katz Index of Independence in Activities of Daily Living and MOSES (p<0.001, r=-0.56). CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed that older people had high functional and independence levels, and this is due to the fact that older people who come to family health care centers form a sample group. However, multidisciplinary studies periodically are needed to evaluate the cognitive, psychological and social functioning of older people living at home.