title: People with dementia in long-term care facilities: an exploratory study of their activities and participation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the activities and participation of people with dementia living in long-term care facilities.
  
  
  METHODS
  An exploratory descriptive study with 329 people medically diagnosed with dementia was conducted in the central region of Portugal. Socio-demographics were collected with a questionnaire based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health-Checklist. Cognitive impairment was measured with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the activities and participation were described with the World Health Organisation Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 (WHODAS 2.0).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Participants mean age was 83.6 ± 7.1 years old. Most were female (79.6%), widows (60.8%), had 1-4 years of education (51.1%) and were living in a long-term care facility from 2 to 4 years (36.2%). Alzheimer's disease (41.9%) was the most prevalent type of dementia. According to the MMSE, the cognitive status was low (8.7 ± 7.9) and 61.7% had severe cognitive impairment. The MMSE scores were negatively correlated with the WHODAS 2.0 scores. Mobility was the most affected domain of WHODAS 2.0. The total score showed that 77.8% of the sample was severely limited in activities and restricted in participation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study shows that people with dementia living in long-term care facilities have severe activities limitation and participation restriction. However, most residents understand what people say, eat by themselves and get along with people who are close to them. This information on disability is crucial to plan health resources and inform rehabilitation programmes tailored to individuals' functionality.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  People with dementia living in long-term care facilities have severe activities limitation and participation restriction. Rehabilitation through engagement in activities and enhancement of participation seems to be crucial for this population. A multidimensional characterisation of activities and participation is recommended to inform the design and implementation of rehabilitation. Mobility was the most affected domain, highlighting the need for specific rehabilitation, as mobility restrictions are associated with residents' dependency and caregivers' burden.
authors: School of Health Sciences, University of Aveiro (ESSUA), Aveiro, Portugal.
authors: Vânia
authors: V
authors: Rocha
authors: Alda
authors: A
authors: Marques
authors: Margarida
authors: M
authors: Pinto
authors: Liliana
authors: L
authors: Sousa
authors: Daniela
authors: D
authors: Figueiredo
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000453:epidemiology; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D003704:Dementia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000145:classification / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008134:Long-Term Care / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D051346:Mobility Limitation; D011174:Portugal / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011788:Quality of Life; D012112:Residential Facilities; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014944:World Health Organization