Qualidade de vida, saúde e bem-estar: representações sociais de idosos de um centro de convivência na cidade de Juiz de Fora – MG

Abstract

Recent research brings new concepts of aging: “successful”, “healthy” and “active”. Many are the names that have been given to the positive aspects related to this phenomenon. In an analysis of this new way of looking at the elderly, one can realize the lack of studies on issues such as quality of life, health and well-being. They are also poor in the consistency of investigations, demonstrating the need for further clarification and insights. Thus, the present study aims to investigate the social representations of quality of life, health and well-being of elderly people who attend a Family Center in the city of Juiz de Fora - MG, deepening this analysis through association with results obtained by through the application of instruments that assess these constructs. As methodology, we chose a cross-sectional, descriptive, quantitative and qualitative study. To meet the objectives outlined, 7 instruments were applied: One (1) sociodemographic questionnaire; 2 instruments that assess quality of life o WHOQOL-Bref and o WHOQOL-Old; 2 instruments that assess health o Brazil Old Age Schedule - BOAS - in sections of physical health and use of medical and dental services; one (1) question about self-assessment of health; 1 (one) instrument that assesses subjective wellbeing (Satisfaction with Life Domains Scale) and a semi-structured interview. Data analysis was performed using statistical analysis for the quantitative data Social Package for Social Science (SPSS-19), and qualitative data were analyzed using the software ALCESTE. Through this study it was noted that the representation of social quality of life was associated with doing what you want, and welfare was associated with living and health to medication and food. Social representations of quality of life and well-being in two aspects were concurrent, the coexistence and the act of doing what you love. Health appears as a representation inserted into the representation of well-being. The relationship between objective and subjective findings showed associations with age and participation in the community center.