[Influence of chronic pain in the functional capacity of institutionalized elderly]

The aim of this study was to analyze the influence of pain, in terms of its duration, location and intensity, on the functional capacity of institutionalized elderly. That was a cross-sectional study carried out with a sample of 60 elderly patients. The instrument was composed by sociodemographic and health variables, the numerical pain scale and the Barthel scale. The Chi-square test showed a significant statistical difference between the presence of pain and the following activities: bathing (p=0.015) dressing (p=0.041), toilet use (p=0.001), bed-chair transfer (p=0.032), ambulation (p=0.010) and stairs climbing (p=0.008) and between total Barthel score and the presence of pain, p<0,000. The results of this study show that pain has a negative effect on the functional capacity of the elderly.