A Funcionalidade como Elemento Preditor numa Unidade de Convalescença. ; Functionality as a predictor element in a Convalescence Unit

Dissertação de Mestrado em Cuidados Continuados e Paliativos apresentada à Faculdade de Medicina ; The National Network of Integrated Continuing Care (RNCCI) was created to respond to the new challenges posed by an aging population, the growing burden of chronic diseases, multimorbidity, and functional dependence. The guiding principles of the Network include the concept of continuity of care, focused on dependency from an integrative model of healthcare and social support. The Convalescence typology is intended for acute or chronic users with decompensation of their clinical situation, promoting autonomy and improving functionality through rehabilitation, readaptation, and family and social reintegration. Individuals are referred to convalescence internment based on criteria, including an indication for a physical rehabilitation program with a predicted duration of 30 days or less. At the end of the internment, individuals are expected to be autonomous or have a level of functionality that allows them to return to their pre-event situation. Objectives: To understand whether the functional level upon admission of individuals to a Convalescence Unit (CU) is a predictor of expected functional gains for a 30-day internment and to identify a functional level for which users should be referred to a Convalescence Unit or directed to other typologies. Methodology: An observational, retrospective, analytical, and cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of 290 individuals in a healthcare unit between June 2020 and May 2022. The admission diagnoses of the individuals were grouped according to the ICD-11. Data were collected from a working file, with records of the application of the Barthel Index (BI) and the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) at admission and discharge of the individuals in the unit. Statistical analysis involved descriptive and inferential statistics to analyse the variables and the retrospective application of ROC curves to statistically calculate the cut-off point in BI and FIM at admission ...