Objective: identifying conditions of individual vulnerability in older adults and investigating the relationship with health indicators through a household survey. Method: a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted with 368 older adults attended by the Family Health Strategy. Data collection was performed through a structured interview, supported by instruments that include sociodemographic characterization, health indicators and the Vulnerable Elders Survey. A descriptive data analysis and Person's chi-square test were also performed. Results: a prevalence of 52.2% individual vulnerability was found among older adults, in addition to an association with health problems, negative self-perception of health, difficulty with mobility and in performing activities of daily living. Conclusion: identifying vulnerability among the aged population is a relevant initiative for the adequacy of health policies and programs that prioritize the promotion of aging with the maintenance of functional capacity.

Objective: To analyze the concept of vulnerability of the elderly. Method: A concept analysis, according to the method proposed by Walker and Avant, operationalized through integrative review through search in scientific data portals using the Descriptors: Health vulnerability, aged, health services for the aged, health of the elderly, vulnerable populations and geriatric health services. To compose the literary corpus, 36 studies were selected. Results: Concept antecedents, as well as its attributes, were identified in individual, social and programmatic characteristics, which make up the characteristics of “vulnerability of the elderly”, besides consequences of the phenomenon. These characteristics were analyzed with emphasis on aspects that contribute to the process of vulnerability of the elderly. Conclusion: The study demonstrated the multidimensionality of the phenomena studied, highlighting the peculiarities of vulnerability during aging. However, there is a need for further studies on the construct.

Objective: to analyze the Theory of Unpleasant Symptoms according to the model proposed by Walker and Avant. Method: a descriptive-reflexive study developed in the first half of 2016. He used the first five phases proposed by the Walker and Avant model: identification of the origins of the theory; examination of the meaning of the theory; logical adequacy; utility; degree of generalization and parsimony of theory. Results: the study allowed the reflection on the Theory of Unpleasant Symptoms, considering the multidimensionality of the symptoms and the potential stimulation between them. It was identified the relations between the main concepts used to construct the theory: physiological, psychological and situational factors, followed by performance, suffering, duration, quality, intensity and unpleasant symptoms. Conclusion: the Theory of Unpleasant Symptoms presents a structured theoretical framework, presenting logical meaning, through well-defined concepts and relations, which make possible its use in practice, teaching and nursing research.

Introduction: The aging process is related to the multidimensional changes that converge on the involvement of disability and caring dependency, thus corroborating with the loss of independence in older people. Active aging emerges as a strategy to achieve the quality of life, being permeated and influenced by determinant factors such as personal and behavioral. Objective: Measure the determinants factors personal and behavioral of active aging among the elderly. Methods: A descriptive and exploratory study with a quantitative approach, developed with assisted elderly in the Integral Care Center for Elderly Health in the city of João Pessoa, PB, Brazil. The sample consisted by 235 elderly. Data collection was conducted from October to December 2014, through interviews subsidized by a structured instrument covering related information to the proposed objective. Data were analyzed from the quantitative approach using descriptive statistics of unvaried nature for both variables, including frequency measures, from position and dispersion. To do this, was used the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences Computer System-SPSS version 20.0. Results: It was verified that the majority of the sample were female (68.1%) with a predominance of the age group from 60 to 69 (59.1%). As for the personal determinants was found the hypertension (28.4%), osteoporosis (20.4%) and arthritis (19.2%) as the most prevalent morbidities, in addition to the falls occurrence (41.

Risco de quedas evidenciado por idosos atendidos num ambulatório de geriatria Risk of falls displayed by elderly patients cared for by a geriatric outpatient clinicRiesgo de caídas evidenciado por ancianos atendidos en un ambulatorio de geriatría

Objective: Propose the concept of vulnerability of the elderly based on the Hybrid Concept Development Model. Method: Methodological study with a qualitative approach, based on the theoretical-methodological framework of the Hybrid Concept Development Model. Initially, an integrative literature review was carried out, followed by empirical collection through semi-structured interviews with 12 professionals. As a method of analysis of the interviews, the Grounded Theory was used. The final analytical phase constituted the interface between theoretical and empirical evidence. Results: When carrying out the theoretical survey, it became possible to outline the attributes, antecedents and consequences of the studied phenomenon. After analyzing the empirical data, two phenomena emerged: Unveiling the multiple changes arising from the human aging process; and Understanding the multiple dimensions of the elderly person’s vulnerability construct. Final considerations: The vulnerability of the elderly person consists of a multifaceted construct, in which individual and collective conditions interact with each other.

Objective: To analyze the concept of “frailty syndrome” in the literature, according to the method proposed by Walker and Avant. Methods: It is a concept analysis, guided by the method proposed by Walker and Avant, made operational through an integrative literature review. The search in a scientific database was carried out using the descriptors: Frail elderly, syndrome, phenotype, geriatric assessment, and aging. The literary corpus comprised 66 studies. Results: The study found the antecedents and attributes (categorized as physical, sociodemographic, and behavioral/environmental) that integrate the signs and symptoms evidenced in the “frailty syndrome,” as well as the consequences of this concept. The variables were analyzed with emphasis on the conceptions that influence the frailty process of the elderly. Conclusion: The study demonstrated the complexity arising from the multifactorial genesis of the referred syndrome, emphasizing the specificities of the elderly’s frailty. However, we recommend conducting further research involving the phenomenon in question to understand the construct better.

To identify vulnerable seniors and physically demarcate the differences by sex in relation to sociodemographic and clinical variables. A descriptive, cross-sectional study with a quantitative approach. The study population comprised elderly resident enrolled in a health district of Joao Pessoa area -Paraíba. The sample consisted of 138 elderly. Data were collected through structured interview, conducted in the period from January to March 2014. This study highlights the prevalence of 47.1% physical vulnerability among the elderly, these 70.8% were female and presented problems health, mobility and difficulty in performing activities of daily living. The identification of vulnerable elderly individuals is relevant to sucintar reflections on the topic and encourages other researchers, professionals and students to go deeper in the subject, in order to obtain new information and thus enrich the studies on the subject proposal.Keywords: Nursing; Health vulnerability; Aged; Aging. RESUMENEl objetivo de este estúdio consiste em identificar las personas mayores vulnerables y físicamente demarcar las diferencias por sexo en relación con las variables sociodemográficas y clínicas. Estudio descriptivo, transversal, con abordaje cuantitativo. La población de estudio estuvo constituida anciano residente inscrito en un distrito de salud de área Joao PessoaAntropología Vulnerabilidade física entre idosos: diferencias por sexo Vulnerabilidad física en ancianos: diferencias por sexo