Promovendo o envelhecimento ativo e saudável entre idosos beneficiados por um programa habitacional: um relato de experiência.

Abstract

The growth of the elderly population has become a worldwide phenomenon, projections indicate that in 2020 Brazil will occupy the sixth place among the countries with the largest number of elderly, which should exceed 41.5 million. Thus, the main challenge of longevity is the preservation of the quality of life, in the presence of threats of restriction of autonomy and independence. This fact led to the elaboration of an Extension Project aimed at improving the quality of life through health education activities that emphasized the expansion of health knowledge. In this sense, the present study aims to report the experience lived during the health education activities developed through an Extension Project with elderly people benefited by a housing program, in order to promote active and healthy aging. This is a descriptive study of the type of experience related to the development of health education actions carried out during the execution of an Extension Project linked to the Federal University of Campina Grande (UFCG), Cajazeiras-PB campus, which is entitled "Health Education: promoting active and healthy aging among the elderly beneficiaries of a housing program", developed in the period from May to December 2017. The actions carried out during the project had active participation of the elderly and included wheels of conversations, individual orientations, dynamics and use of recreational activities that empowered them with knowledge about health, provided the improvement of mechanisms to maintain independence and autonomy, served as a support for the development of active and healthy aging, and improved the quality of life of the elderly population living in the condominium. Population aging is a reality in the Brazilian population, but should not be synonymous with incapacity and health problems. Health education is relevant in the promotion of healthy aging, as it assists in guiding beneficial living habits and enables the exchange of experiences, in addition to respecting the individuality of individuals. Health care should not be limited to prolonging life, but maintaining the functional capacity of the individual, in a way that keeps him autonomous and independent. Thus, it is believed to have contributed to the maintenance of the health of the elderly community, based on an educational process that is active in the prevention of major diseases, with a view to promoting health and improving the quality of life of the individuals involved.