Qualidade de vida de idosos institucionalizados e não-institucionalizados: um estudo comparativo.

Abstract

The evaluation of quality of life in the elderly is related to the investigation of individual perception of self-esteem and well-being, involving factors such as lifestyle, health status, physical dependence, functional ability, socioeconomic status, social interaction, emotional state, intellectual activity, family support, satisfaction with realized activities and living together environment. Considering the breadth of the theme and subjectivity, as well as lack of knowledge about the quality of life of elderly people living in different social contexts, the objective of this study was to measure so the comparative quality of life of elderly institutionalized and non-institutionalized of the Cuité city, Paraíba state. This is a comparative exploratory descriptive study of quantitative nature conducted with 40 elderly people, grouped equally by categories. After authorization of the research by the Ethics Committee of the Centre for Health Sciences, of the Federal University of Paraíba (CCS/UFPB), process nº 202.260, the data were collected by using the WHOQOL-Bref and WHOQOL-Old questionnaires developed by the World Health Organization. Results were descriptively analyzed and presented in the form of graphs and tables. The results point that the non-institutionalized elderly have higher levels of quality of life. According to WHOQOL-Bref research application, the non-institutionalized elderly people had the highest percentages that reflect the highest level of satisfaction in all domains: physical, psychological, social relationships and environment. In relation to WHOQOL-Old research instrument, the non-institutionalized elderly people also had the highest percentages regarding satisfaction in five domains: sensory functioning; autonomy; activities past, present and future; social participation and intimacy, excepting only the domain related to die and death in which institutionalized elderly had higher scores. It was evident from results, therefore, the need for creating and implementing of public policies toward to the elderly, particularly those institutionalized in order to promote the highest levels of quality of life for this population segment, especially when it is considered that the Brazil will be in the near future, one of the countries with the highest number of elderly people, and most of those living in long-permanence institutions.