Functional mobility, depressive symptoms, level of independence, and quality of life of the elderly living at home and in the nursing home.
OBJECTIVE
To compare functional mobility, depressive symptoms, level of independence, and quality of life of the elderly living at home and in the nursing home.


METHODS
A prospectively designed, comparative study.


METHODS
A nursing home and a university hospital department.


METHODS
In this study, 33 elderly living in a nursing home and 25 elderly living at home, who fulfilled the inclusion criteria and volunteered to participate, were included.


METHODS
Sociodemographic characteristics were recorded. Functional mobility (Timed Up & Go Test), depressive symptoms (Geriatric Depression Scale), level of independence (Kahoku Aging Longitudinal Study Scale), and quality of life (Visual Analogue Scale) scores were compared between the groups.


RESULTS
Functional mobility and independence level of the nursing home residents were higher than the home-dwelling elderly (95% CI: -4.88, -0.29 and 0.41, 6.30, respectively), but they had more depressive symptoms (95% CI: 0.30, 5.45), and their level of QoL was lower (95% CI: -15.55, -2.93).


CONCLUSIONS
These findings are thought to be important and of benefit for health care professionals and caregivers as indicating the areas that need to be supported for the elderly living at home (functional mobility and independence) and in the nursing home (depressive symptoms and quality of life).
Karakaya
Mehmet Gürhan
MG
Muğla University, Muğla School of Health Sciences, Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Muğla, Turkey. mgkarakaya@mu.edu.tr
Bilgin
Sevil Cuvalci
SC
Ekici
Gamze
G
Köse
Nezire
N
Otman
Ayşe Saadet
AS
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006707:Homes for the Aged; D006801:Humans; D057187:Independent Living; D008297:Male; D051346:Mobility Limitation; D009735:Nursing Homes; D011336:Probability; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014421:Turkey