Rehabilitation Interventions for Older Adults: Integrating Innovative Technologies in a Pre-experimental Study Design
摘要
As a result of its specific characteristics, aging can translate into considerable limitations in people's health status and autonomy. Consequently, autonomy in self-care is compromised, which leads to a greater demand for health care, aiming to minimize functional deficits. Rehabilitation is considered a fundamental health service for people, aiming at teaching, demonstrating and training adaptive strategies, which enhance the maintenance/promotion of self-care. The technological world brings advantages to rehabilitation care in the execution of intervention plans, achieving health gains, either through adaptive devices or through the increase in health literacy of the population. The elaboration of a rehabilitation plan for older people requires taking into account their particularities, opting, at the same time, for a strategic vision of comprehensive health care, promoting functionality, particularly in situations of self-care deficit. Objectives – The main objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a proposed rehabilitation intervention plan integrating technological means for people aged 65 and over, in terms of functionality; as specific objectives, it is proposed to evaluate gains in cognitive functions after the rehabilitation plan and to identify barriers faced by people during the rehabilitation process. Methodology – Pre-experimental study design (without a control group), with analysis before and after the application of the Rehabilitation Plan to people aged 65 or over, using the Mini-Mental State Examination and the Elderly Nursing Core Set as data collection instruments. Results/Conclusions – With this pre-experimental study design, it is expected to validate the proposed intervention plan, in terms of gains in functionality and cognitive limitations of people aged 65 years and over and to identify barriers to the rehabilitation plans of this population.