The functional performance of elderly urban African-American women who return home to live alone after medical rehabilitation

Objective. Elderly women who live alone are at increased risk for loss of i ndependence. Hospitalization, in particular; often marks the transition fro m independent living to institutional care. The purpose of this study was t o examine the relationship of rehabilitation admission to the subsequent fu nction of elderly women and their ability to return to live-alone status. Method. The women in the study (N = 138) were admitted to a geriatric rehab ilitation unit at a large urban medical center between September 1997 and S eptember 1998. The findings reported here pertain to the subset of African- American women (n = 122), the majority of the sample. Data were collected w ing several standardized assessments, including the Functional Independence Measure (FIM). Results. The FIM motor scores improved significantly for the total sample b etween admission and discharge, and the mean FIM motor score for the group that subsequently attained live-alone status was significantly higher than the non-live-alone group at 3 months and 6 months postdischarge. The partic ipants who returned to live alone also reported significantly greater indep endence than did their non-live-alone counterparts across a variety of acti vities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living skills. Conclusion. These data suggest that rehabilitation is associated with impro ved functional outcomes, and higher functional performance is related to li ve-alone status.