FUNCTIONAL HEALTH STATUS EVALUATION IN PATIENTS APPLYING TO FAMILY MEDICINE

Abstract

Aim: Our study was conducted to determine whether the functional health status of patients treated at the Family Medicine Outpatient Clinic at Van Yüzüncü Yıl University Dursun Odabaş Medical Center differed significantly according to chronic disease status and sociodemographic characteristics. Materials and methods: In this cross-sectional study, 303 volunteer patients were evaluated. A seven-question sociodemographic information form and an 8-question COOP WONCA scale were used. The SPSS (ver: 13) package was used for the statistical calculations. Results: While 53.5% (n = 162) of the participants had chronic diseases, 46.5% (n = 141) did not have chronic diseases. Higher mean COOP-WONCA scores indicate worse functional health status. The functional health status decreased as the age of the patients increased (p < 0.01). Among the sociodemographic characteristics, gender had an effect on functional health status, and women had greater mean COOP-related WONCA scores than men did for the mood, social activity and daily activity subheadings (p < 0.05). Individuals who were married or single had better functional health status than those whose spouse was deceased or divorced (p < 0.01). The mean COOP WONCA scores and mean scores for all questions were greater for people with chronic diseases than for healthy individuals (p < 0.01). Conclusion: Our study revealed the importance of age, sex, marital status, education level and chronic diseases on functional health status and quality of life. Determining the functional health status of patients applying to family medicine with appropriate scales and taking necessary recommendations and measures will reduce mortality and morbidity.