Elderly patients attended in emergency health services in Brazil: a study for victims of falls and traffic accidents

Freitas, Mariana Gonçalves de; Bonolo, Palmira de Fátima; Moraes, Edgar Nunes de; Machado, Carla Jorge

The article aims to describe the profile of elderly victims of falls and traffic accidents from the data of the Surveillance Survey of Violence and Accidents (VIVA). The VIVA Survey was conducted in the emergency health-services of the Unified Health System in the capitals of Brazil in 2011. The sample of elderly by type of accident was subjected to the two-step cluster procedure. Of the 2463 elderly persons in question, 79.8% suffered falls and 20.2% were the victims of traffic accidents.

The 1812 elderly who fell were grouped together into 4 clusters:

Cluster 1, in which all had disabilities; Cluster 2, all were non-white and falls took place in the home; Cluster 3, younger and active seniors; and Cluster 4, with a higher proportion of seniors 80 years old or above who were white. Among cases of traffic accidents, 446 seniors were grouped into two clusters: Cluster 1 of younger elderly, drivers or passengers; Cluster 2, with higher age seniors, mostly pedestrians. The main victims of falls were women with low schooling and unemployed; traffic accident victims were mostly younger and male. Complications were similar in victims of falls and traffic accidents. Clusters allow adoption of targeted measures of care, prevention and health promotion.

O artigo tem por objetivo descrever o perfil dos idosos vítimas de acidentes de trânsito e quedas, a partir dos dados do Inquérito de Vigilância de Violências e Acidentes (VIVA). O VIVA Inquérito foi realizado em serviços de urgência do Sistema Único de Saúde, nas capitais brasileiras, em 2011. A amostra de idosos por tipo de acidente foi submetida ao procedimento two-step cluster. Dos 2463 idosos, 79,8% sofreram quedas e 20,2% acidentes de trânsito (AT).

Foram agrupados 1812 idosos em 4 clusters de queda:

Cluster 1, no qual todos tinham deficiência; Cluster 2, todos eram da raça/cor não branca e com queda na residência; Cluster 3, idosos mais jovens e ativos e Cluster 4, maior proporção de idosos com 80 anos e mais e de raça/cor branca. Entre os casos de AT, 446 idosos formaram 2 clusters: Cluster 1, idosos mais jovens, condutores ou passageiros; e Cluster 2, idosos mais velhos e pedestres. As principais vítimas de quedas foram mulheres com baixa escolaridade e sem trabalho atual. Já as vítimas de AT eram mais jovens e homens, maioritariamente. As complicações foram semelhantes em vítimas de quedas e de AT. Os clusters permitem adoção de medidas focalizadas de atenção, prevenção e promoção da saúde.