Programa de fisioterapia geriátrica como promotor de saúde e qualidade de vida

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Identify the benefits of a geriatric physical therapy program in the promotion of health and quality of life of seniors. METHODS: This is a descriptive, exploratory and longitudinal study. The study sample consisted of 12 elderly participants in a rehabilitation program for period exceeding three months. We used an evaluation questionnaire prepared by the researcher and the scale of Activity of Daily Living (ADL) applied individually, consisting of objective and subjective questions about identification, general aspects, activities of daily living and physical therapy. The variables analyzed were: epidemiologic profile, quality of life, pathologies, health level, relationship between drug use and time in the program. RESULTS: The epidemiologic profile showed that the population is composed mostly of elderly 66.6% (n = 8) female, 50% (n = 6) were married, and 100% (n = 12) were using more than one type of medication and showed pathologies associated with aging, presenting some limitations in activities of daily living. After entering the geriatric physical therapy program, 41.6% (n = 5) of the sample left the use of medicines. CONCLUSIONS: After entering the program, we observed improvement in vital functions, greater adherence in performing regular exercise and decrease in the use of medicines, with direct impact on self-esteem and quality of life. Therefore, it was observed the importance of physical therapy for the prevention and maintenance of ADL, as well as to improve the quality of life.