[Functional capacity of patients over 65 according to the Katz index. Reliability of the method].
OBJECTIVE
To find functional capacity of elderly patients by using the Katz Index, which measures the "Basic Activities of Daily Life". To examine how reliable the Katz Index is in the Primary Care field.


METHODS
Descriptive crossover study. Assessment of the measuring instrument's internal consistency and reliability, using a test-retest method. SITE. Otero Health Area, in Oviedo.


METHODS
This was a random sample, ordered by age and gender, of people over 65 who used the Otero Health centre.


RESULTS
The elderly population made up 12.86% of our base Health Area. The Katz Index showed that 81.6% of the elderly in the sample were independent in all their functions. A significant age difference was found. Internal consistency was measured by Cronbach's Alpha and was 0.8612 for nurses and 0.8362 for doctors. The correlation coefficient within Sperman's estimated observer was r = 0.936074. Kappa was 0.8436 (p < 0.0000) for the different observers, i.e. nurses or doctors.


CONCLUSIONS
Most of the elderly patients in our base Health area possess full functional capacity, at the level of the routine activities of their daily life. The Katz Index is a reliable method of evaluating elderly peoples' functional capacity, at the Primary Care level. It can be used by any professional in the health team.
Alvarez Solar
M
M
Centro de Salud de Otero, Oviedo, Asturias.
de Alaiz Rojo
A T
AT
Brun Gurpegui
E
E
Cabañeros Vicente
J J
JJ
Calzón Frechoso
M
M
Cosío Rodríguez
I
I
García López
P
P
García-Cañedo Fernández
R
R
Pardo González
I
I
Suárez-González
A
A
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011320:Primary Health Care; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012737:Sex Factors
Capacidad funcional de pacientes mayores de 65 años, según el índice de Katz. Fiabilidad del método.