Family characteristics associated with the prevalence of factors of mood changes in hospitalized elderly people

Abstract

Introduction: Family nucleus in which an elderly person is inserted can be a protective factor against mood changes, but it can also be a facilitator of such conditions, intensified by the hospitalization process.

Objective: To evaluate the family characteristics associated to the prevalence of factors indicative of mood alteration in hospitalized elderly.

Methods: A cross-sectional, quantitative study carried out with 673 elderly people hospitalized, in the period 2020-2021. Answering the IVCF-20 (Clinical Functional Vulnerability Index) question was used as a dependent variable: In the last month, have you felt discouraged, sad or hopeless? As an independent variable, a family questionnaire was used. Data were analyzed using the chi-square test.

Results: Males predominated (52.3 %), aged between 60 and 69 years (49.3 %) and elementary school (31.8 %). The majority of the elderly did not have a partner (50.7 %), lived with other people (68.2 %), had a child as a reference family member for health care (23.5 %), being usually a female and needed a companion during hospitalization (66.9 %). 52.3 % of the elderly had mood changes, being significantly more frequent in those who had their children as a reference family (p = 0.011) and who needed companions (p = 0.021).

Conclusion: The prevalence of mood changes in hospitalized elderly was high. The family characteristics associated with mood changes were: family of reference, where elderly people accompanied by their children had a higher prevalence of mood changes than those accompanied by their spouses/partners; and need for a companion.