Hyperfrequent elderly in primary health care: sociodemographic, clinical-functional, behavioral and mental characteristics

Objective: Identify sociodemographic, clinical-functional, behavioral and mental characteristics in hyper-frequenting elderly people in Primary Health Care. Methods: Cross-sectional study, carried out at the Basic Health Unit of Granja do Torto, Brasília, Distrito Federal, using questionnaires to obtain sociodemographic, functional, clinical, mental and behavioral data, in 33 hyper-frequenting elderly (group one) and 37 non-elderly hyperfrequentadores (group two). For data analysis, descriptive analysis and the chi-square test were used, considering significant p ≤ 0.05. Results: In both groups there was a prevalence of females. The variables significantly different between the two groups were: number of consultations (p <0.001), age (74.4 ± 6.7 in group one and 69.7 ± 6.7 in group two) (p = 0.04), polypharmacy (p = 0.02), self-perceived health (p = 0.05), level of physical activity (p = 0.001), instrumental activities of daily living (p = 0.05) and chronic diseases (osteoporosis (p = 0.03) and neoplasia (p = 0.01)). Conclusion: Knowledge of the profile of hyper-frequenting elderly people will enable the development of a more resolutive approach to the demands of these users, contributing to the planning of public health actions and favoring the organization of health services provision in relation to the field of geriatrics and gerontology, developed within the scope of Primary Health Care.