Elderly people’s incapacity as a challenge for the nursing care

Introduction. A decrease in the ability to exercise self-care, which is natural in the ageing process, triggers an increase in the demand for
various forms of care. The elderly and the disabled demand special nursing care. Taking care of these people involves helping them to stay
independent of others, reassuring them and looking after them when they become ill. An ability to exercise self-care, i.e., functional efficiency
ought to be defined as an independence of others in meeting basic everyday needs. These needs include: moving, feeding, controlling
physiological functions and keeping personal hygiene.

Aim of the study. The work aimed at specifying disability degrees of elderly people and consequent demands for the nursing care.

Material and methods. The research was conducted in the group of 130 elderly people with cardiovascular conditions. Patients were
staying in long-term care institutions of eastern Poland. Patients were 65 years old and older. Females comprised 60.70% of the researched
group, consequently males comprised the further 39.30%. Patients’ fitness was evaluated by means of the Barthel scale.

Results. The majority of people from the researched group were qualified to the 2nd fitness category (51.53%), 3rd fitness category was
comprised of 44.61%, and the group of independent people was the least numerous, it was comprised of merely 3.86%. Females proved to
be less fit (averagely 25.94) than males (averagely 39.11).

Conclusions. On the basis of the research results, it may be concluded that the research group had rather low efficiency within the scope
of physical functioning, which generated a considerable demand for the nursing care. Gender and age considerably influenced fitness of
patients from the researched group.

Nursing Topics 2011; 19 (1): 1–4