The Factors which Influence the Independence Level of the Elderly in Doing Daily Activities in the Working Area of Helvetia Health Community, Medan Indonesia

Abstract

Old age usually undergoes physical, biological, psychological, and social changes. The decrease in physical capacity can influence the Independence of the elderly in doing their daily activities, particularly in performing self-care. The objective of this research was to find out some factors which influenced the independence level of the elderly in doing their daily activities in the Working Area of Helvetia Puskesmas, Medan. The research used descriptive method with cross sectional design. Independent variables included health condition, economic condition, and social condition. The data were gathered by distributing questionnaires to 90 respondents, analyzed manually, and put into the frequency tables. Some factors which influenced the Independence level of the elderly in doing their daily activities were health condition, economic condition, and social condition. The result of the research showed that 42 respondents (46.7%) were in the category of independent and 48 respondents (53.3%) were dependent; 56% of the respondents had bad health condition so that 36.7% of them were dependent; 56.7% of the respondents had good economic condition so that 36.7% of them were dependent; 53.3% of the respondents had bad social condition so that 33.3% of them were dependent. The conclusion of the research was that these three conditions influenced the independence level of the elderly in doing their daily activities. It is recommended that the elderly keep their physical condition fit and try to do their daily activities as optimal as ossible, without the help from other people