Evaluation of the health level of the elderly: patient care team considerations

Evaluación del estado de salud de los ancianos: miradas del grupo de asistencia al paciente

ABSTRACT

Objective:

To understand the differences of physicians, nurses, and social workers in the evaluation of the health status of the elderly.

Methods:

A cross-sectional quantitative study, using descriptive statistics. Non-probabilistic sample, consisting of 291 participants from three professional categories: 71 (24.4%) physicians, 192 (66%) nurses, and 28 (9.6%) social workers. We used a questionnaire including the variables: sociodemographic characteristics and instruments used for evaluation.

Results:

Instruments with greater utility for the evaluation of the elderly: for physicians, Mini Mental State Examination; for nurses, Braden scale; and for social workers, genogram. In the physical examination, the data most collected by physicians and nurses are the vital signs; and by social workers, the condition for performing the Activities of Daily Living.

Conclusions:

The evaluation of the elderly is based on a diversity of instruments and is an area in which health and social professionals need to share information.

Descriptors:
Health Personnel; Health Level; Patient Care Team; Elderly; Nursing