Uso de herramientas sencillas de valoración para clasificar las cargas de trabajo asistencial según la dependencia

Background: integral assessment tools are currently available that allow quantification of the workload burden generated by mid- and long-stay center residents. However, these facilities can be poorly operational depending on the caregiving stage or on the type of assessment performed. The objective of this study was to show how simple dependency assessment tools can represent an alternative for estimation of the workload burden generated by mid-term and long-term facility residents. Material and methods: a cross sectional study was carried out in 16 mid-stay and long-stay centers or nursing homes. Social and demographic, medical and dependency data were registered for each resident and the RUG-III system was used to assign nursing care time and healthcare burden. The effects of physical and cognitive dependency on burden and time were evaluated according to generalized linear models. Results: after adjusting for possible confounding factors, the main cause of healthcare burden was physical dependence (p < 0.001), although there were slight differences depending on cognitive status. The only significant factor in nursing time was physical dependence (p < 0.001). Residents with greater physical dependence (Barthel = 5) showed a twofold mean relative weight value and 86.7% greater healthcare time load than those with lesser physical dependence. Conclusions: use of the Barthel and Mini-Examen Cognoscitivo (MEC) scales can generate a few homogeneous groups of mid- and long-stay facility residents that differ in burden and healthcare time load requirements.