Caracterização sociodemográfica e da saúde de idosos de uma estratégia de saúde da família de um município gaúcho

Abstract

This research aims to describe the sociodemographic characteristics and the living and health conditions of the elderly population registered and assisted in a Family Health Strategy in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul. Consists of a descriptive, cross-sectional study, of a quantitative nature, using the service database generated by the implementation of the Health Handbook of the Elderly and the Home Register. The sample consisted of 377 elderly people; the predominance of women was identified, the age group from 60 to 70 years old, white, married, retired or pensioners, living with family members and in their own home, with schooling higher than four years. Elderly people who have some type of disability (physical, hearing, intellectual / cognitive) represented 17%. Regarding the housing situation, the elderly have, in general, good home conditions and basic infrastructure in the community. As for other health conditions, chronic diseases prevailed - Systemic Arterial Hypertension (65.8%), Diabetes Mellitus (29.7%) and Depression (24.1%). The elderly also reported having fallen at least once (54.6%), being overweight (49.9%), having chronic pain (47.2%) and using polypharmaceuticals (42.4%). It is noteworthy that 30% of the elderly reported having diagnoses different from those provided for in the Handbook. It is concluded that the characterization of the elderly portrayed in this study is consistent with studies collected from this population, indicated the convenience of considering other health conditions in the Handbook and offered the local health service and public authorities subsidies for implementing actions with the elderly population aiming at a better quality of life.