Qualidade de vida: percepções de idosos participantes da cidade do idoso

Abstract

The general objective of the study is to “promote a space for reflection on quality of life among elderly participants in health promotion strategies through the Paulo Freire Culture Circle”. This is a participatory research with a qualitative approach, whose participants were 41 elderly people attending the Old City. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee from opinion 3,407,578 and CAAE 12874119.0.0000.5564. Data collection took place through Paulo Freire's Circle of Culture and for each of the four stages participatory pedagogical strategies were used. The first meeting sought to identify the generating themes and used the strategy “Brain Storm” from the following triggering question: “what in your daily life makes you happy?”. The second is called coding and represents the identification of the meanings of the generating themes. For its operation we use the "World Coffee". In groups, the seniors answered the triggering questions: “How does the Elderly City contribute to my quality of life?”; "Why does talking to other seniors make me feel good?" "Why does caring and serving others make me happy?" In the third stage, called decoding, reality was “read” through dialectical moments, in which subjects were mobilized to “re-aim” reality through a dialogue promoted by a nurse based in the "Pentacle of well-being" by Markus Vinicius Nahas. The last stage, critical unveiling, highlights the need for concrete action to overcome the gaps. For their accomplishment, the previous meetings were rescued, discussing challenges for the maintenance of the quality of life and commitment of the elderly in relation to it, the elderly wrote their perceptions in available materials in order to support the dialogue promoted with the large group. The analysis of the collected information was performed through the Oscar Jara Holliday Systematization of Experiences and the steps: starting point; initial questions; recovery of the lived process; Background reflection and arrival points. According to the elderly, the City of the Elderly directly interferes with the quality of life by promoting socialization, physical activity and healthy eating, which would not have access if not for the referred space; They also added caring for each other, religiosity, financial aspects, the importance of a multidisciplinary team in the health care of the elderly and family and friends in achieving a satisfactory quality of life. The study highlights the need for the maintenance and expansion of health promotion strategies due to the positive impacts on the quality of life of this age group, promoting, in addition to quantitative longevity, a healthy social, spiritual and biological aging.