<b>Prevalent nursing diagnoses in geriatrics according to disability level</b> - doi: 10.4025/cienccuidsaude.v9i1.10525

Abstract

This is a quantitative study conducted at the Outpatient Clinic of the Geriatrics and Gerontology Academic League of Botucatu School of Medicine. It aimed at learning about the profile of elderly patients and their level of disability in relation to basic activities of daily living. Based on this information, nursing diagnoses for the population under study were made, and the most frequent diagnosed were selected with the purpose of composing a stage of the instrument for nursing consultation in geriatric. It was found that the disabled elderly patients were predominantly females and widowed. They had a mean age of 81 years and had completed the first 4 grades of elementary school. Chronic pain related to physical disability and impaired ambulation related to the presence of osteoarticular diseases are examples of the most common diagnoses in the studied population. It is important that geriatric nurses implement Nursing Care Systematization based on the knowledge of the population to which they attend by considering the level of disability of elderly patients with respect to basic activities of daily living, so that full and individualized care can be provided and the patients’ remaining autonomy can be preserved.