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Health and self-care profile of older people: a descriptive study in nursing homes, in northern Portugal

Maria Manuela Pereira Machado

Introduction: An aging population is one of the main problems of the twenty-first century. According to Backman & Hentinen, the older people self-care is fundamentally looking after their health. The self-care prerequisites of older people are their personality, their health experience, the attitude towards others, the aging process and expectations about the future, according to which proposed four types of self-care: responsible, formally guided, independent and abandoned.

Objectives: This study aimed to describe the habits and lifestyles of older people living in nursing homes in the northern region of Portugal, its relationship to health, satisfaction and with the offer of each nursing home; Identify the self-care style of residents and characterize the clusters.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional, descriptive and correlational study, with a representative sample, district proportional. The inclusion criteria were: without alterations of consciousness or mental status or cognitive impairment. Data were collected by the principal investigator, between September 2013 and October 2014, using a form designed for this study.

Results: The age of the sample, 388 older persons, living in nursing homes, with capacity to decide about their habits / lifestyles, varies between 65 and 100, with an average age of 82 years. Most are female, widowed and with low education. With regard to habits, they make overall diet, four daily meals; take general bath 3 times a week; wash their hands 3 times a day and their teeth once a day. Have exercise habits and television is the main pastime. They don't have nap habits, sleep about seven hours by night and take sleeping medication. We use cluster analysis as clustering method to identify groups of individuals and obtained a grouping into three clusters: the cluster 1 are the seniors with a responsible selfcare profile, a positive attitude towards life, satisfied with life but with little high expectations; cluster 2 the seniors with a self-care profile formally guided a positive attitude and satisfied with life, but with low expectations; and cluster 3 seniors with an abandoned self-care profile, a little positive attitude, low expectations and low life satisfaction.

Conclusions: The resident's habits and lifestyles are influenced by the characteristics and offer of each nursing home and influence their health. Self-care profiles are related to the entry into the nursing home and the health condition of older people: those with a responsible self-care profile enter the nursing home later, by choice, have fewer chronic diseases and less commitment of bodily processes. The earlier identification of older people's self-care profiles in community, may allow nurses to promote the healthier life styles and anticipate more sustainable and better suited solutions, to older people's needs.