Assessment of the functional capacity of 65+ patients in the general health rehabilitation department

Population ageing, which results in an increase of the number of people aged over 65, makes it necessary for medical services to devote more attention to the problems of the elderly. Numerous chronic diseases and health issues have a detrimental effect on physical and mental condition of old people, usually causing a de¬creased functional efficiency, disability, and dependence on other people’s assistance. What lowers the pace of health deterioration leading to illnesses and disability, is rehabilitation based on physical activity. Diagnosis of functional efficiency precedes the selection of optimal forms and methods of motoric rehabilitation.

Aim

The aim of the study was comparison of functional efficiency results of elderly patients measured at the moment of admission to the rehabilitation department, and after a 3-week programme of motoric rehabili¬tation. The second objective was to demonstrate correlation between regular physical activity and the degree of self-reliance.

Materials and methods

This research was conducted upon approval of the Bioethics Committee of the NCU in Toruń func-tioning at Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz – KB 527/2018 from 20.06.2018 to 30.06.2019. The place of research was the Department of Systemic Rehabilitation of the New Hospital in Świecie. What constituted the research material were the results of tests conducted both at admission and discharge of patients from the hospital. Standardised tools, scales and indexes were used, including Barthel andVES-13. Author’s own inquiry form containing questions, about social and demographic data and health condition(among others) was also applied in the present research.

Results

What the conducted research indicated, was a significant statistical improvement of patients’ results in Barthel index, both in males and females.

Conclusions

1. The research confirms that hospital rehabilitation results in an increase in the functional capacity of seniors.

2. Independence in the performance of daily activities, assessed using the Barthel scale, achieves a higher level at discharge than at admission.

3. There were statistically significant differences between the VES-13 score groups regarding the Barthel score both on the day of admission and on the day of discharge.