Representações sociais elaboradas por pessoas idosas sobre ser idoso ou envelhecido: abordagens estrutural e processual

Abstract

Resumo: Objetivo: discutir as representações sociais de pessoas com idade ≥65 anos sobre ser idoso ou envelhecido. Método: pesquisa delineada na Teoria das Representações Sociais. Participaram idosos de uma Unidade Básica de Saúde mineira. Coletaram-se dados de caracterização sociodemográfica e foram aplicadas técnica de evocação e entrevistas gravadas, em 2015, com análises prototípica e de conteúdo, apoiadas por softwares. Resultados: participaram 93 idosos, maioria mulheres (62,4%), com 72 anos em média e escolaridade ≤8 anos (88,15%). Identificaram-se conteúdos nucleares - comum: “avalia-ser-velho” e distintos: “idade-chega” e “experiência” (ser idosa) e “difícil-ruim” (ser envelhecida). Na abordagem processual, identificou-se engajamento para lidar com novas demandas, apesar do reconhecimento de limitações secundárias ao processo de envelhecimento. Conclusão: verificou-se ausência de conteúdos nucleares objetivados, sendo os comportamentos e pensamentos ancorados em experiências próprias e com terceiros, vinculados ao nível de (in)dependência, condições de vida e redes de apoio, carreando semelhanças e distinções.

Quality of life and falls in elderly people: a mixed methods study

“…Home and peridomiciliary environments, over the years, may prove unsafe and threatening to the person in the aging process, especially considering that, over the years, elderly people perceive themselves as more fragile individuals and prone to falling (3)(4)(5)(6) .…”

“…The evocation of this term shows us how important the event of fall in elderly people's lives, so that they feel the need to seek spiritual help for their recovery or protection. This spiritual support provides well-being and generates hope, being a good form of coping that helps in maintaining QoL (4)(5)(6) . There is a study that shows the positive correlation between spirituality and improvement in health indicators (36) .…”

“…The musculoskeletal system undergoes changes due to aging, such as loss of lean mass, bone demineralization, stiffness of the hip, knee and shoulder muscles. These conditions generate a reduction in elderly people's functional capacity, which decreases mobility and makes it difficult to walk, making elderly people prone to falling (2)(3)(4) .…”

“…Falls are understood as "involuntary and unintentional displacement of the body to a level below the current level, which can be caused by intrinsic and extrinsic factors" (3)(4) . The occurrence of this event generates, in addition to financial costs, psychological impact for causing the feeling of fear, which can lead to an increase in elderly people's dependence and vulnerability to new episodes of falling (4)(5)(6) .…”

“…This study was carried out because it meets the guidelines of the research agenda (14) regarding the approach to elderly people in an active and successful aging process (1)(2)4) from their perspective; the impact of the high rate of falls in elderly people on morbidity and mortality and QoL (4,6) ; the profile of elderly people regarding the number of diseases, number of medications and musculoskeletal deterioration predisposing to falls (1,6) .…”