Nursing care dependency of the hospitalized elderly: a cross sectional study

Aim: To verify the degree of dependency on nursing care on the part of hospitalized elderly inside a clinical practice unit by using the Perrocas’ System for Patient Classification. Methods: a cross sectional study, undertaken with 112 elderly patients in a clinical practice unit at a teaching hospital at João Pessoa/PB. Results: It was observed that most elderly patients presented a high level of dependency on nursing care. A statistically significant association between high dependency levels and the socio-demographic variable of previous occupation was identified. Conclusion: the empirical results obtained in this research are crucial to our understanding of the dependency of elderly hospitalized in clinical practice units, as well for the development of similar studies focusing on elucidating this dependency in order to help improve elderly patients’ quality of life. Descriptors: Dependency; Elderly; Nursing Care; Hospitalization.