Atitudes de pessoas idosas, atendidas na Atenção Primária à Saúde, frente ao envelhecimento

Abstract

Introduction: Population aging is an increasingly prominent reality in Brazil, making it important to understand not only clinical aspects but also the subjective attitudes of older adults toward their own aging process. Objective: To evaluate the attitudes of older adults toward aging, considering the dimensions of psychosocial losses, physical changes, and psychological growth. Method: A quantitative, observational-analytical, cross-sectional study was conducted with 278 older adults receiving care at a Primary Health Care Unit in Maceió, Alagoas. Data were collected using a sociodemographic questionnaire and the Attitudes to Ageing Questionnaire (AAQ), which consists of 24 items distributed across three subscales. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 27.0, employing descriptive statistics, the ShapiroWilk test, and the non-parametric Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests (p<0.05). Results: The majority of participants were aged 60–69 (63.3%), male (66.5%), married or in a stable union (51.8%), retired (79.5%), and self-identified as pardo (mixed-race/brown) (54.7%). The total AAQ score had a mean of 83.6 points (SD=16.5); the "Psychological Growth" subscale yielded the highest mean (32.9), followed by "Psychosocial Losses" (25.4) and "Physical Changes" (25.2). Statistically significant differences in scores were observed based on religion, marital status, education level, income, household arrangement, and race/ethnicity, as well as age group for the "Physical Changes" dimension. No differences were identified based on sex. Conclusion: The older adults evaluated displayed moderately favorable attitudes toward aging, with a particular emphasis on psychological growth. The observed differences indicate that these attitudes are influenced by sociodemographic, economic, and relational conditions, underscoring the importance of individualized and multidimensional gerontological nursing care within Primary Health Care.