Caracterização sociodemográfica, de saúde e apoio social de idosos usuários de um serviço de emergência

Abstract

The aim of this study was to characterize the sociodemographic aspects, health issues and social support offered to the senior users of the Emergency Department of the Hospital de Clinicas in Porto Alegre. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with a random sample of 220 seniors. A structured data form was used to collect data related to the sociodemographic and health characteristics and social support. The majority of subjects were women, married retired,from Porto Alegre, and aged from 60 to 69 years. Almost half reported having poor or very poor health and the prevalent self-reported morbidities were cardiovascular diseases. Differently from other studies with seniors from the community, the majority reported receiving support from family and few provided support. Social support from the formal network was small. Health care must occur in a comprehensive network to provide support to the seniors and their families and to prevent the frequent use of emergency services and to qualify assistance.

Factors associated with the care of elderly persons with Primary Health Care sensitive conditions

“…The number of elderly women was slightly higher than the number of men, which is in line with studies on the profile of the population treated by health services 19,21 . The majority did not have more than eight years of schooling which puts them in a situation of social vulnerability.…”

Prevalência de sintomas depressivos entre idosos em um serviço de emergência

“…Isso demonstra que muitos idosos não possuem acompanhamento em saúde, procurando atendimento apenas em momentos críticos ou no aparecimento de sintomas agudos. Dados similares foram observados por Serbim et al 25 na mesma instituição, ao identificarem que os idosos optam pelo serviço de emergência para o tratamento de doenças crônicas, não utilizando outros serviços. Diante disso, torna-se fundamental refletir sobre os riscos a que esses indivíduos ficam expostos ao permanecerem sem acompanhamento de saúde adequado.…”

Changes in the quality of life of an elderly group of the family health strategy

“…Some studies showed that a higher level of literacy is a social indicator that brings greater chances of professional success to the individual, allowing the elderly a possible life with healthy habits [22][23][24][25]. Thus, the low level of education of the elderly presented in this research imposes the need to program educational actions to appropriate to the demanded profile.…”

“…Over 80 years old, studies have shown that there are 25 times greater chances of functional capacity decline, related to the elderly with fewer years of life. Other studies reported that compared to young people, people over 80 years old have very limited health [16,17,21,22].…”

“…Aging carries a range of physiological changes imposing the individual a gradual increase of physical and functional limitations, besides the high incidence of chronic diseases observed in the elderly [4]. This fact exposes these individuals to a greater risk of falls and dependence, being subject to several diseases and problems resulting from this process [5].…”