Relação entre independência funcional, memória subjetiva e tomada de decisão em idosos institucionalizados e não institucionalizados

Abstract

The following study was conceived with the purpose of evaluate the extent to which there is interdependence between functional dependency, subjective memory and decision making in the elderly population. The topic at hand is of extreme importance due to the increasing aging population, especially in a period of decadence in which there is functional dependence, lack of memory and loss of autonomy in decision making. Based on this issue, we were committed to evaluate the relationship between these three variables. The study focused on a sample of 104 elderly hosted at the Lar de S. José and Nursing Home of the Santa Casa da Misericórdia da Póvoa de Lanhoso. For this purpose, a sociodemographic questionnaire was undertaken to characterize the sample. Simultaneously, we used the Barthel Index (BI) (Mahoney & Barthel, 1965; portuguese version adapted by Sequeira, 2007; 2010) and the Subjective Memory Complaints Scale (QSM) (Schmand et al., 1996; Portuguese version adapted by Ginó et al., 2001) and a specific task for Decision Making (Dror et al., 1998). The results point to the existence of a relationship between the variables in study. We verified that higher functional independence is related to better subjective memory and faster decision making. We was also found that the institutionalized elderly have less functional independence, less subjective memory and less speed in decision making than non-institutionalized elderly. Regarding level of education, there were no statistically significant differences in relation to functional independence and subjective memory, but there are differences in the speed of decision making. Finally, there were no statistically significant gender differences regarding subjective memory and speed in decision making, existing only differences regarding functional independence.

Date of Award	31 Mar 2015
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Eleonora Cunha Veiga Costa (Supervisor) & Domingos Júlio Gomes Alves Ferreira (Co-Supervisor)