Profile of older adult voters in the state of Rio Grande do Sul

• Autor(a) principal: Bós,Ângelo José Gonçalves
• Data de Publicação: 2015
• Outros Autores: Signorini,Walessa, Rodrigues,Cletiane Dias, Trennepohl,Caroline
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Geriatrics, Gerontology and Aging (Online)
• Texto Completo: https://ggaging.com/details/36
• topic: social participation; aging; politics; public health.

<p><b>OBJECTIVES:</b> Little is known about the civic participation of the elderly in Brazil, so it was proposed to investigate the factors associated with the participation of the elderly in the presidential election of 2010.<br> <b>METHODS:</b> We analyzed the data from an epidemiological cross-sectional and observational survey conducted in 2010-2011, involving 7,315 elderly identified by home visits to randomly selected census sectors of 59 cities in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Logistic regression analysis used the dichotomous dependent variable if the elderly not voted in the 2010 election (voted), and the independent variables were: socio-demographic, lifestyle, mobility difficulties, self-rated health and number of comorbidities.<br> <b>RESULTS:</b> Regardless of age, 71% of older adult respondents voted. The percentage of elderly between 60 and 69 years who voted was higher than that observed in the general population. Men and women had similar frequencies. Significant factors to vote in the 2010 elections were: age, education, self-rated health, morbidity, mobility, safety, reading newspapers, watching news on television, community activities, regular physical activity, economic activity and knowledge of the Statute of the Elderly.<br> <b>CONCLUSION:</b> Elderly voters in Rio Grande do Sul are younger, married, with excellent or good self-rated health, with more morbidities, without walking difficulties, remain informed, know the Statute of the Elderly and are social, physical and economically active.</p>