Sarcopenia screening in elderly in primary health care: nurse knowledge and practices

• Autor(a) principal: Silva,Rutielle Ferreira
• Data de Publicação: 2020
• Outros Autores: Figueiredo,Maria do Livramento Fortes, Darder,Juan José Tirado, Santos,Ana Maria Ribeiro dos, Tyrrell,Maria Antonieta Rubio
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Revista Brasileira de Enfermagem (Online)
• Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0034-71672020001500189
• topic: Sarcopenia; Elderly; Geriatric Nursing; Primary Health Care; Mass Screening

ABSTRACT Objective: Describe the knowledge and practices of the Primary Health Care nurse on sarcopenia screening in the elderly. Methods: Qualitative study conducted with 24 Primary Health Care nurses. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews, recorded and later transcribed. The speeches were grouped in thematic categories, later analyzed, supported by Paulo Freire’s reference. Results: The findings showed that the primary care nurses’ knowledge of sarcopenia screening in the elderly was incipient and fragile. This reality is reflected in a gap in practice, although some instruments already require the registration of characteristics indicative of sarcopenia, such as the evaluation of the calf circumference. Final Considerations: The need to train nurses to perform sarcopenia screening and to implement a promotional and preventive care plan, which will result in improving the quality of life of the elderly assisted in Primary Care, was highlighted.