270 www.topicsingeriatricrehabilitation.com October–December 2014 Topics in Geriatric Rehabilitation • Volume 30, Number 4, 270-275 • Copyright © 2014 Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins DOI: 10.1097/TGR.0000000000000036 Functional capacity and quality of life were evaluated in 43 institutionalized elderly people. Physical therapy interventions were performed for 30 minutes each week followed by reassessment after 16 weeks through the Functional Independence Measure and the World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF questionnaires. Results were analyzed using a paired t test ( P ≥ .05). Functional independence and quality of life remained constant in the physical and social relation domains with a reduction in the psychological and environmental domains. Physiotherapy prevented functional, physical, and relational losses over the 16 weeks but did not influence psychological and environmental aspects of institutionalization. Key words: aging, disability evaluation, exercise, homes for the aged, quality of life Functional Performance and Quality of Life in Institutionalized Elderly Individuals Luciana Vieira Castilho-Weinert, DSc; Sibele Yoko Mattozo Takeda, MSc; Ana Tereza Bittencourt Guimarães, DSc; Anelise Macalossi Gonçalves, PT; Luciana Maria Zanini, PT; Alini Ioris Cavalcanti, PT; Jocasta Mayara Grigório, PT; Júlia Beatriz da Silva Cunha, PT; Aline Fagundes Bonfim, PT; Gabriela Soares Ximendes, PT contained in the statute, sometimes hospitalization in a nursing home can be the only alternative for a family lack- ing familiar, financial, and psychological availability. 4 In these institutions, the individual lives in a boarding form and receives health and hygiene care and food. 3 The accelerated aging of the population will be reflected in an increasing number of institutionalized elderly. 5 There are no official figures on the number of institutionalized elderly in Brazil. 6 Born 7 mentioned that only 1 study, dated 1984, estimated that between 0.6% and 1.3% of the Brazil- ian elderly population was living in long-term institutions. Studies suggest that, between 1985 and 2060, the number of institutionalized elderly in Brazil will increase from 1.3 to 4.5 million with a large portion being dependent. 5,8 In Paraná, the number of elderly residents in long-term care facilities for the elderly reached 6195 in 2008. 9 The institutionalized population has a high level of inactivity; lack of affection; absence of family to assist in self-care; lack of financial support; high levels of functional limitations, such as difficulty in performing daily living activities; and loss of physical, cognitive, social, and func- tional autonomy. 10,11 The increase in life expectancy and the institutionaliza- tion process are causes for concern insofar as it is consid- ered that, for longevity to occur properly, one will need quality of life and functional independence. 5,12 When there is difficulty or inability in performing daily activities, there is a high risk for loss of functional independence and reduc- tion of subjective well-being and quality of life. 13,14 Thus, evaluation of functionality and quality of life is essential for the development of interventions and to monitor the overall health of the elderly people. 15 For this population, functionality and independence levels are as relevant as the presence of disease. 15 The assessment of the physical and functional condi- tions and changes that occur in the elderly people during the aging process is essential, especially in institutionalized elderly, who often have more significant functional deficits than noninstitutionalized elderly. 16 Physiotherapy interven- tion with exercise contributes to the physical, intellectual, and emotional development of the elderly people. 17 In this age group, the physiotherapy aims to preserve motor func- tion, prevent and treat disabilities resulting from the aging T he increase in life expectancy is considered a world- wide phenomenon, a tendency that predicts that much of the current population will reach old age. The world population of 7.2 billion will reach 9.6 billion in 2050, of which a quarter will reach old age—that is, more than 2 billion people. 1 In Brazil, there are currently 19.7 million elderly people representing 10.7% of the pop- ulation, and estimates indicate that, in 2050, the Brazilian population will have 19% elderly people. 2 To ensure assistance for the elderly population, the Elderly Statute was instituted in Brazil, which prioritizes the care of the individual in his or her own family instead of asylum care (in long-term institutions) except in cases where the individual and his or her family do not meet min- imal subsistence conditions. 3 Despite the determination Author Affiliations: Federal University of Paraná, Matinhos (Dr Castilho- Weinert, Ms Gonçalves, Ms Zanini, Ms Cavalcanti, Ms Grigório, Ms da Silva Cunha, Ms Bonfim, and Ms Ximendes); Federal University of Par- aná, Curitiba (Ms Takeda); and State University of West Paraná, Cascavel (Ms Guimarães), Paraná, Brazil. The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest in the research. This research was supported by UFPR. The authors are grateful to São Vicente de Paulo Home and its residents for helping in carrying out this study. Correspondence: Luciana Vieira Castilho-Weinert, DSc, R. Jaguariaiva, 512, 83260-000, Matinhos - PR, Brazil (lucianaweinert@gmail.com). Copyright © 2014 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.