Socio-demographic and health characteristics of elderly individuals: support for health services

Abstract

This is a sectional epidemiological study including a household survey. It describes the socio-demographic and health conditions of elderly individuals residing in Guarapuava, PR, Brazil. The study's sample consisted of 359 elderly individuals enrolled in primary health care units in the city. Interviews were conducted from January to April 2010 using sections I and II of the Brazil Old Age Schedule questionnaire. The results revealed that most interviewees were women (64.3%), health self-perception was considered 'good' by 54.6%, and the most prevalent diseases were hypertension (34.9%), diabetes mellitus (12,4%) and arthritis/arthrosis (12.2%). Most elderly individuals use dental prostheses (74.4%) and 56.5% wear glasses or contact lenses. The conclusion is that knowledge concerning the social, demographic, and health profiles of these individuals favors the implementation of actions specific to this age group by health providers, and helps managers to develop health indicators. Características sociodemográficas y de salud de ancianos: contribuciones para los servicios de saludSe trata de un estudio epidemiológico seccional con encuesta domiciliar con el objetivo de describir las características sociodemográficas y las condiciones de salud de ancianos del municipio de Guarapuava, PR, Brasil. La muestra del estudio fue compuesta por 359 ancianos inscritos en las UBS del municipio. Las entrevistas fueron realizadas de enero a abril de 2010 utilizando la sección I y II del cuestionario Brasil Old Age Schedule -BOAS. Los resultados demostraron que el sexo femenino fue prevalente (64,3%), la autopercepción de salud fue buena para 54,6% de los ancianos; las enfermedades más relatadas fueron hipertensión (34,9%), diabetes mellitus (12,4%) y artritis/artrosis (12,2%). La mayoría de los ancianos utiliza prótesis dentaria (74,4%), 56,5% lentes o lente de contacto. Se concluye que el conocimiento del perfil sociodemográfico y de salud de estos ancianos favorece la implantación de acciones específicas, para este intervalo etario, por los profesionales de salud que trabajan en este municipio, además de auxiliar a los gestores para formular indicadores de salud.

Autoestima e fatores associados às condições sociais em idosos Self esteem and factors associated with social conditions in the elderly

“…Because it is a multidimensional instrument, it has been increasingly used in Brazil. 16 Their sessions allow us to describe the social determinants of the subject in question, whereas transposes into broader discussions as how these factors interfere with individual, family and group of elderly relationships. 17 The data were tabulated and analyzed using SPSS® 15.0 and it were obtained descriptive statistics (absolute frequency, percentage and confidence interval of 95%) for each of the variables.…”

Reliability and practical aspects of the disease impact measure on hypertensive patients

“…In Brazil, in 2010, data collected from DATASUS pointed out that 23.3% of the population over the age of 18 reported previous medical diagnosis of hypertension (weighted percentage to adjust the socio demographic distribution of VIGITEL sample to the distribution of the adult population of Census 2000) (4) . A study involving the elderly population showed that 34.9% of all reported diseases referred to self-reported hypertension (5) .…”

Prevalence and Concomitants of Arthritis in the Elderly in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

“…Specifically, reports from well-designed, nationally representative and locally representative studies report rates ranging from 12.2% to 51.9% [17], [23]–[27]. Differences seem to reflect how arthritis is defined, how enquiry is phrased, and the time frame covered.…”