SHORT ABSTRACT OF THE TALK

We assumed that the population over 65 years old tend have an exponentially superior demographic representation worldwide, particularly in the southern countries of Europe and mainly in Portugal. A number of organizations and different theories propose that the study of the behavior of self-care can result in a predictive indicator of care needs for that age group in different contexts, as a mean for the reorganization of health care in general, above all as far as nursing is concerned. Objectives: To assess the functionality of people over 65 years old in the region of Alentejo (Portugal); To standardize the concept of functionality depending on age; To describe the needs for nursing care according to the different levels of functionality, established on a model of self-care. Methodology: Study I: cross-sectional, descriptive, stratified random sample, with 931 people over 65 years of age; confidence level of 95 %, a margin of error of 3.2 %; carried out in the Alentejo (Portugal). Study II : cross-sectional, descriptive, convenience sample, with 427 people over 65 years of age, carried out in the Continuing Care Units (CCU) of Odivelas (Portugal) and Alentejo Litoral (Portugal), in the CCU of Redondo (Portugal) and in a Home for the Elderly of SAMS (Medical and Social Assistance Services). Throughout our studies, we applied several techniques which allowed building and analyzing sensitivity, reliability and validity of Core Set of Indicators for the Elderly (CSI) and the Elderly Nursing Core Set (ENCS). Results: In Alentejo and regarding self-care behavior, people in the age group 65 to 84 years old show self-care activity and those who have 85 years old and more present moderate therapeutic self-care deficit. Overall, females, widows, who cannot read/ did not attend school, with 85 and more years old, underweight (BMI), with deficits and impaired emotional and economic situation that cannot satisfy needs of food, housing and health, show higher levels of problems. In the second study, we found statistically significant differences between the needs for nursing care, the level of educational support systems and partial or total compensation as well as the insertion context. The needs for nursing care are more evident at the level of the CCU region of Alentejo Litoral and Odivelas, followed by the Nursing Home of SAMS and, finally, by the CCU of Redondo. Conclusion: We recommend the evaluation of nursing care needs of people over 65 years of age based on the assessment of self-care behavior, described in M65+SelfCare for a conceptual framework which would incorporate the assessment of self-care, functional capacity and knowledge capacity .
Keywords: Aging, Behavior of Self-Care, Nursing Care.