Cuidados em saúde : representações sociais de idosos e suas vivências na terceira idade

• Autor(a) principal: Silva, Susanne Pinheiro Costa e
• Data de Publicação: 2012
• Tipo de documento: Tese
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Repositório Institucional da Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo (riUfes)
• Texto Completo: http://repositorio.ufes.br/handle/10/9087
• topic: Social Representations; Elderly; Care in Health; Representações Sociais; Idosos; Cuidados em Saúde; Psicologia; Saúde x Cuidados; 159.9

The growing of the elderly population is a worldwide phenomenon and, in Brazil, changes occurred radically and very fast, causing a significant change in the age pyramid and epidemiological behavior. It is hoped the increase of chronic diseases, some of them preventable diseases such as respiratory infections. From this perspective, the elderly behavior of their health care can directly influence their quality of life. The objective of this study was to analyze the phenomenon of social representations of health care, especially of preventative for seniors that living in the city of Petrolina-PE. The research was supported in the Theory of Social Representations, Theory of Central Nucleus and Content Analysis. Work with the following instruments for data collection: a structured form, with social and demographic dates’; free association of words and semi-structured interview. Participated 130 elders, interviewed between December/2010 and March/2011. The results showed that most participants were suffering from chronic diseases, especially hypertension and diabetes. The elderly represented their health as problematic and in need of care, which were accomplished through individual action or through science. The health care were known by most participants, especially those related to lifestyle habits, although not the most practiced. The pursuit for medical care, that they believed to be preventive, occurred when the installation of more severe diseases. The elderly used to take the prevention against the influenzza from the annual vaccine, especially the older ones. The core of the representations was based on knowledge collectively shared by the culture of health care, that is exercised at home by alternative medicine, seeking professional help when not solve problems by self-care, believing that this practice is called prevention. We conclude that the social representations of health care for the groups investigated are anchored in consensual universe, by means of general measures that often make daily learned during life, and in the reified universe, through medical care. All this enables the maintenance of life and improving its quality, helping to better the experience senility. We also perceived that the social representation here presented, shape the complexity of the determinations economic, social and educational that prevail in the country and, in particular, in the region.