ABSTRACT
Objective
To analyze the applicability of Screening of Activity Limitation and Safety Awareness (SALSA) for the evaluation of the functional capacity of the elderly with leprosy.
Method
Descriptive and transversal research, developed with 77 elderly people with Hansen’s disease accompanied at the Reference Center in Dermatology, in Fortaleza, Ceará, from June to August 2015, through the application of SALSA and two other scales already validated for use in elderly. For the analysis, descriptive and inferential statistics were used.
Results
There was convergence between the scales (p=0.0000) on the evaluation of functional capacity. The variables age and gender showed a larger number of associations with the activities evaluated, whereas, in the clinical variables related to leprosy, just the grade of disability presented a relationship with more than two activities.
Conclusion and Implications for practice
The SALSA has contributed to the effective evaluation of functional capacity in the population studied, being more influenced by age than by leprosy. SALSA’s application is recommended in the initial consultations as a tool for screening of the functional capacity of older people with leprosy.
Keywords:
Leprosy; Geriatric Assessment; Personal Autonomy