Funcionalidad física y bienestar mental de pacientes con enfermedades crónicas : caso Hospital Naval Guayaquil.

Abstract

Several studies have focused on the study of variables related to quality of life and mental well-being that reflect from a broader and more comprehensive perspective the well-being of patients with chronic disease, going beyond just biomedical control. The objective of this research was to evaluate the physical functionality and mental well-being of patients with chronic diseases at the Guayaquil Naval Hospital for the proposal of a social and assistance support program for the study group. For this, a quantitative, cross-sectional descriptive and correlational study was carried out. A total of 53 (37%) chronic patients and 90 (63%) patients without chronic disease were surveyed; the questionnaire assessed general health, physical functionality and mental health through the SF-36 scale. The findings revealed that both the levels of physical function and mental health differ significantly between the chronic and non-chronic groups. Patients with chronic disease reported significantly lower levels of physical function and mental health. The relationship between physical function and mental health was only significant and important in magnitude for patients with chronic disease. The proposed interventions were a physical activity plan and scheduled visits to the psychologist on which adequate monitoring and evaluation are proposed to prove their effectiveness.