Use of physiotherapy services by elderly patients at a central hospital in Zimbabwe

Abstract

The health status of the elderly in a community may he reflected in their use of the available health services. The records of elderly patients who utilized physiotherapy services at a central hospital in Zimbabwe over a five-year period (1989-1993) were reviewed to determine the range of medical problems for which the patients had been treated through physiotherapy. It is argued that physiotherapy has a role to play in improving the quality of life of older Zimbabweans with physical disabilities. Further, a case is made out for physiotherapists to become involved in health-education programmes to prevent the occurrence of factors which contribute to the onset of physical disability in older persons.