The level of independence in daily functioning of the elderly in home environments

Introduction
Health problems in elderly patients, requiring special treatment and care, particularly home-based care, are an important challenge for healthcare providers today. Monitoring the functional status of elderly subjects is very important for subjects themselves as well as for the healthcare and social welfare providers.

Aim of the research
To determine the functional capacity and independence in daily functioning of elderly subjects residing in their home environments, including potential correlations of these factors with the prevalence of certain medical conditions.

Material and methods
The study was conducted in a population of 401 elderly subjects residing at their home environments in the Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski district. The inclusion criteria included age of at least 65 years as well as full logical and verbal contact with the subject. Independence in daily functioning was assessed by means of the EASY-Care questionnaire (1999–2002 Polish version).

Results
The mean age of the subjects was 73.61 years. Vocational educational background was most prevalent. The highest prevalence was reported for eyesight problems (33.90%) and hearing problems (27.12%). The average score obtained by the elderly subjects in the EASY-Care daily functioning survey was 27.04 ±25.79 points. Significantly lower levels of functional capacity were observed in subjects with cardiovascular disorders (p < 0.05) and respiratory disorders (p < 0.05) as compared to subjects not diagnosed with these disorders.

Conclusions
The level of independence of the elderly subjects was found to be moderate. Disorders most detrimental to the daily functioning of the elderly are those related to the respiratory and cardiovascular systems.