The Geriatric Day-Care assistance mode: functional effects in a six month multidisciplinary health care program

The objective is to describe the functional capacity of elderly patients who took part in a six-month follow-up program at a geriatric day care center. The methods used were a six-month observation clinical study. The following tools were used to assess fourteen elderly patients over 80 years old at admission at the day care and for six months thereafter: Brazilian OARS Multidimensional Functional Assessment Questionnaire (daily life activities), Mini-Mental State Exam (cognition), Berg Balance Scale (functional balance evaluation) and Timed Up and Go Test (mobility). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Wilcoxon and paired-samples T tests to verify statistical differences over time, a=0.05. The results showed significant differences between assessment and reassessment of the global functional capacity scores (p=0.019) and postural transfer balance-related ability (p=0.041), showing improvement over time. After follow-up, scores related to the other variables remained unchanged. Conclusion: multidisciplinary health care at the geriatric day care center reinforced improvements or maintenance of the participants functional capacities, proving to be a promising alternative health care mode for the elderly.