Qualidade de vida e suas implicações para a saúde da população idosa dos estados e municípios do Brasil: uma investigação em documentos de domínio público

Abstract

Aging in Brazil is a growing phenomenon and it is estimated that in the coming years the number of elderly people will exceed the total number of children. Therefore, investigations about quality of life are relevant, since this is one of the main factors that are related to increased longevity. The present research, which was born from the multidimensional study “I Diagnosis of Alagoas on Health, Nutrition and Quality of Life of the Elderly Person”, had as its main objective to explore and discuss, in the light of psychological science, the quality of life of elderly people in Brazil, under a multidimensional perspective. For this, the methodology used was the development of an integrative literature review, which took place in four different databases and prioritized the investigation of the phenomenon mentioned in public domain documents. The data analysis strategy for this research consisted of categorization of the documents found based on the literature (health domain) and on the four domains of the WHOQOL-bref instrument (psychological domain, environmental domain, social domain and physical domain), developed by WHO and which are configured as the main interveners in the quality of life of the elderly population. As a result, a total of 217 documents were initially obtained in the identification and selection phase and in the eligibility phase, a quantity of 130 documents was included for data analysis and discussion, with a greater incidence of the environmental domain. Finally, it was found that it is important to change the social perspective regarding the understanding of what it is to be elderly and the adoption of practices/actions that encourage protagonism and active aging, with a view to minimizing discriminatory discourses, which directly reflect on the quality of life and health of this population. It is emphasized that this is a role not only for the State, but also for citizens as active agents and transformers of their social environment.