The Importance of Measuring Functional Independence for Rehabilitation Therapy in Older Trauma Patients

Traumatic injuries can have an impact on the functional capacity and quality of life of older adults. Given that, we sought to measure the functionality of older trauma patients and its implication for rehabilitation therapy. This is cross-sectional study of 257 trauma patients aged 60 years and older admitted to a public hospital in Brazil. A sociodemographic questionnaire and the Brazilian version of the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) were used. Mean FIM total score was 42.5±19.9, mean FIM motor score was 30.2±21.5, and mean FIM cognitive score was 74.5±28.0. The most affected FIM domains were self-care (mean of 25.6±26.6), mobility (mean of 14.6±28.7) and locomotion (mean of 9.7±21.9). Men (mean total FIM score of 48.1±23.1) were more independent than women (mean total FIM score of 39.0±16.8), with statistically significant differences in mean FIM total score (p<0.001) and in the motor (p=0.002) and cognitive (p=0.029) subscales. Self-care (p<0.001), mobility (p<0.001), locomotion (p=0.002) and social cognition (p=0.024) scores were significantly different between genders, with women exhibiting the worst scores. Lower body injuries significantly impaired motor (p<0.001) and cognitive (p=0.002) functionality. There was an impairment in functional independence, mainly among women, with a greater impact on the motor domain.