Turkish Journal of
GERIATRICS

BaÅŸkent Ãœniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Halk SaÄŸlığı Anabilim Dalı, Ankara Aim: The purpose of this study was to determine the daily living activity status as well as the health and mental health status of aged 65 years and over patients hospitalized. Materials and Methods: A study was performed among 91 old, conscious and cooperative patients hospitalized at Baskent University Hospitals Network between March-May 2001. Data were collected by a questionnaire using face-to-face interview technique and patients’ records were evaluated in order to assess blood test results. Katz Daily Living Activity Index was used for evaluating daily living activities. The data was analyzed by SPSS 10.0 statistical package program. Results: The percentage of using glasses, hearing apparatus, and stick was 86.8%, 5.5%, and 29.7% respectively. 31.9 % the study group had cardiovascular problems, 26.4% of them had diabetes mellitus, 30.8% of them were hypertensive, 8.8% of them had renal failure, 5.5 % of them had cancer, 14.3 % of them had gastro intestinal system problem, 17.7 % of them had orthopedic problem, 6.6 % of them had neurological problem and 5.5 % of them had COPD. When the mental health status was evaluated, it was determined that 26.4 % of them had insomnia occasionally, 13.2 % of them couldn’t focus their attention during working, 11.0 % of them had difficulties in making decision and 35.2 % of them lost of his/her self-confidence. The mean score of daily living activity was found to be 20.2±10.4 and the median was 23.0 (0.0-33.0) in the study group. Conclusion: The study results showed that cardiovascular diseases and diabetes mellitus are the main diseases seen among the hospitalized patients however mental health disorders also pose a serious burden of disease in this group. It was also revealed that the great amount of surveyed population over 65 years old could do their daily living activities alone however when the activity level was categorized as complex activities, the number of person who is doing them alone is decreasing. Keywords : Elderly, Chronic Disease, Daily Living Activities.