Functional autonomy of elder women living in urban and rural areas: a comparative study

Abstract

Functional autonomy plays an important role in the quality of life of older adults. However, the effects of the context of rural and urban living on autonomy in this population are little known. The present study compared the autonomy of older women living in urban areas of Greater Vitória, state of Espírito Santo (UG, n=30, age=65.5±0.72 years) versus that of older women living in the rural area of Alfredo Chaves, Espírito Santo (RG, n=31; age=65.1±0.74 years), using the Senior System for Evaluation of Autonomy of Action (SysSen). The SysSen consists of a questionnaire (QSAP) and a field test (TSMP). The QSAP provides an Index of Expressed Autonomy (IAE) and the TSMP, an Index of Potential Autonomy (IAP). The ratio of IAP to IAE defines the Index of Autonomy of Action (IAP/IAE=ISAC). An ISAC?1.0 categorizes the subject as autonomous. The results revealed that: a) IAP was higher in the UG, but requirements in terms of IAE physical activities were greater; b) the Total Index (ITOT) for upper body strength was higher than the aerobic capacity (PA) in the RG; c) the four parts of the QSAP provided similar contributions toward the overall IAE. The conclusion was that both groups showed similar levels of deficit of autonomy according to ISAC, due to insufficient physical fitness in relation to IAE.