Relação entre capacidade funcional e capacidade de tomada de decisão em longevos

Introduction: The aging population is a challenge of this century, affecting society and imposing needs of structural adjustments. The longevity involves numerous changes in the lives of the elderly and when associated with functional disability may impair functionality, health, precluding an autonomous and healthy life. Objective: To observe the relationship between functional capacity and ability to make decisions of the oldest old. Methods: This study was descriptive analytical cross-sectional quantitative research in the oldest-old (80 years or more) of RS. The instruments used were a general questionnaire, a survey of interaction between the oldest-old and his/her life, assessment of functional independence and ability to make decisions. Results: The sample consisted of 47 oldest-old, divided in octogenarians (19) and nonagenarians (28). The moral psychological phase of octogenarians was classified on average as conscientious and nonagenarians as conformist. Both groups showed greater loss in decisions related to activities at home. Nonagenarians had worse functional capacity when compared to octogenarians. However, nonagenarians with higher moral psychological phase were much closer to the functional capacity of the octogenarians. Conclusions: We observed a positive relationship between physical function and decision-making capacity in oldest-old. Investigating factors that may contribute to the oldest-old maintain higher quality of life is essential for the restructuring of services, public health action plan and providing care with dignity. This could be achieved by maintaining functional independence as long as possible, preserving or recovering autonomy and always give priority to a better quality of life of seniors in the final stage of their lives.