Envelhecimento e qualidade de vida: representações sociais construídas por idosos.

Abstract

Population aging in Brazil has been increasing in recent years without proper monitoring of effective social improvements. This scenario demonstrates the need of deeply understand the relationship between the increase in longevity and quality of life of seniors, particularly to recognize the main impacts of the biopsychosocial changes of advancing age, and how this population subjectively perceives, experiences and faces these changes. Thus, the aim of this study is to know the social representations related to aging and quality of life built by the elderly, besides it describes the socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of the study participants. This is a descriptive study from the perspective of qualitative approach, supported by the contribution of the Social Representation Theory and executed in the micro Western Curimataú Paraiba with a sample of 444 elderly. Data were obtained through a socioeconomic and demographic questionnaire and the Free Association Test Words (FATW), using words "aging" and "quality of life" to comprehend the social representations of the elderly participants, and the results processed the EVOC software. The results achieved from the FATW indicate that experience, happiness, death, longing, aging and life consist of consensual social representation of the elderly about aging. About quality of life, it was represented only as health, composing therefore the central core. Peripheral cores out representations such as attention, suffering, trouble, love, leisure and independence, it claim for interventions by families, society and State deconstruct these perceptions and to ensure, in practice, a satisfactory life course. It is evident, therefore, a significant need for development and implementation of multidisciplinary and intersectional action aimed on the elderly, not only for your plausible bio-psychological functioning, but also to its recovery as a citizen and maintenance of autonomy, independence and active role in society.