External causes and their impact over functional independence of adults with fractures

Author(s)

Luciana Tokunaga Itami

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: São Paulo.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Escola de Enfermagem (EE/SBD)
• Defense date: 2008-06-20

Examining board members

Ana Cristina Mancussi e Faro; Ana Maria Calil; Marisa Aparecida Amaro Malvestio

• Advisor: Ana Cristina Mancussi e Faro

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the functional independence of adults with fractures due to external causes, in admission and discharge from the hospital, and one month after returning to the domicile. The scale used was The Functional Independence Measure (FIM) and the sample was characterized according to the socio-demographic profile, The survey was made between November 2006 and April 2007; the sample was composed by 74 interns of the Orthopedic and Trauma Institute of a hospital, in the city of Sao Paulo. The individuals were predominantly males (91,9%) with average age of 31,8 years, white (51,3%) and victims of labor accidents (51,4%). The fractures of inferior limbs were predominant, representing 73,0% of the cases, followed by superior limbs, which were 13,5%. The most frequent days of occurrence were weekends (32,7%), and the most common times were from 12:00pm to 12:00am (60,8%). The automobile accidents were responsible for 58,1% of admissions, followed by falls (20,0%). In what comes to functional independence, there was a considerable increase in the average values of the motor FIM and total FIM throughout the study. It was observed that the functional incapability increases in cases of automobile and running over accidents, and also in the ones where the inferior limbs were affected (AU)