[Diagnosis of health needs of the elderly population of a community of Puerto Nuevo]. / Diagnóstico de necesidades de salud de la población de adultos viejos de un sector de la comunidad de Puerto Nuevo.

The purpose of this study was to identify the health needs of the non-institutionalized population, 65 years and over, residing in a sector of the community of Puerto Nuevo. This was the first urbanization established in Puerto Rico in the early 50's. The "snowball" technique was use to identify all the residents 65 year and over of the mentioned sector. Eighty five elderly persons were interviewed to gather data of the following variables: demographics, health conditions, preventive measures, activities of daily living (ADLs, IADLs), health services utilization, psychosocial aspects and use of programs and services available for the elderly population. Statistical analysis included descriptive measures and chi-square. Results revealed a population with a higher education and economic level than the average for this age group in Puerto Rico. People over 75 years over reported more functional limitations than the 65-74 years interviewees did. In comparison with men, women were less educated and presented a higher percent of widows, persons living alone and functional limitations. In almost all the interviewees, help was available in case of need. The majority expressed satisfaction with their family and social lives. Very few utilized programs and services available for elderly persons. It is concluded that in order to improve their quality of life, this population needs to be managed in an holistic mode to address their biopsychosocial needs and to be educated in health promotion issues to prevent further functional limitations. They also need education about the available services for elderly persons.

Knowledge and beliefs of breast cancer among elderly Puerto Rican women: validation process of scales.

This paper presents the results of the validation process to determine the concepts for knowledge and beliefs about breast cancer early detection practices among Puerto Rican elderly women. An initial questionnaire was designed based on the scientific literature review and focus group experiences. To determine its reliability and validity, 50 elderly women, stratified by type of profession and place of residence, were interviewed twice. Consistency of the questionnaire was analyzed using binomial test, matched t-test, Pearson correlation coefficient, and Cronbach's coefficient effect. Factor analysis (FA) was the statistical technique used to analyze the grouping of the knowledge and beliefs statements. FA indicated that three scales for knowledge and one for beliefs can be constructed. The purpose of the scales was to identify differences among groups, according to breast cancer early detection practices. Construct validity was performed to determine the number of statistical associations between the scales and these practices. The results showed that beliefs scales was associated with practice of mammogram (p < 0.05), and visit to the gynecologist (p < 0.05) while the knowledge scale for early-detection was associated with the clinical breast examination (p < 0.05). The beliefs scale had better consistency than the knowledge scale. The Cronbach's alpha was 0.75 for the beliefs' scale and 0.30, 0.41 and 0.43 for each defined knowledge scale, respectively.