Cleane Rosa da Silva

Quality of Life and Depressive Symptoms in the Elderly Living in Community

Introduction: the elderly are affected by some chronic diseases that require comprehensive and continuous health care, among them depression, with disabling potential, compromising their quality of life. Objective: discovering the quality of life of seniors residing in community and their relationship with the symptoms of depression. Method: a quantitative study, observational, cross-sectional, whose sample included 110 elderly with preserved cognitive conditions and who agreed to participate voluntarily. Data collection was conducted from October to December 2013. Statistical analysis was performed using the software Statiscal Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), version 20. Results: the quality of life assessed by the WHOQOL-BREF obtained the highest score in the field of social relations (73.93) and lowest score in the environmental field (61.27). The WHOQOL-OLD showed a higher score in sensory abilities facet (76.19) and lowest score on the facet autonomy (61.47). The correlation of quality of life with depressive symptoms presented the psychological domain and facet social participation with strong and negative association. Conclusion: the development of longitudinal studies becomes feasible for a better understanding of the phenomenon studied.

Activities Offered to the Elderly in Primary Health Care: Social Representations of Elderly and Professionals

Introduction: in the SUS, the Family Health Strategy, considered by the Ministry of Health as the elderly users’ gateway, is designed to reorient the health care of the population, promoting the quality of life. Objective: recognizing the social representations built by the elderly and health professionals about the activities offered to seniors in Primary Health Care Health Care. Method: an exploratory study of a qualitative approach based on Theoretical contribution of Social Representations in its dimensional approach conducted with 257 elderly and 249 professionals in the Family Health Units in the city of Joao Pessoa/Paraiba/Brazil. The collected data were processed with the SPSS 20.0 software and Iramuteq 0.6 alpha 3. Results: the results showed three classes: Dimensions associated with activities offered to the elderly, represented by: necessary, excellent, quality, poor, deficient and insufficient; Service improvement perspectives: improving, service, poor, lack, attention; and Professional dimensions in senior care, consisting of: importance, professionals, promote, quality of life, well-being, self-esteem. Conclusion: it is expected that this study will contribute to the reflection about the quality of activities offered to seniors in primary health care services and serves as a improvement for changes needed in the current context of the health of the elderly.

Resiliência e capacidade funcional de pessoas idosas com diabetes mellitus

Objective: to correlate the resilience and functional capacity of the elderly people with diabetes mellitus. Methods: this is an exploratory, descriptive and cross-sectional study, conducted with 96 elderly patients hospitalized for complications of diabetes mellitus in a university hospital. Data collection was performed through an interview, using a semi-structured instrument called the Resilience Scale and the Barthel Index. Results: most of the elderly people had moderate resilience (57.3%) and functional dependence (85.4%), with a mild (30.2%) and moderate (26.0%) prevalence. A positive correlation was observed with statistical significance between resilience and functional capacity, so the increase of one variable is correlated with the elevation of the other. Conclusion: when correlating resilience with the functional capacity of the elderly person, a positive and proportional relationship was observed between these variables highlighting the functional capacity as an important instrument for the development of resilience in the elderly person with diabetes.Objetivo: correlacionar a resiliência e a capacidade funcional de pessoas idosas com diabetes mellitus. Métodos: estudo exploratório, descritivo e transversal, realizado com 96 idosos hospitalizados por complicação do diabetes mellitus em um hospital universitário. A coleta de dados foi realizada por meio de entrevista, utilizando um instrumento semiestruturado, a Escala de Resiliência e o Índice de Barthel. Resultados: a maioria dos idosos apresentou resiliência moderada (57,3%) e dependência funcional (85,4%), com prevalência leve (30,2%) e moderada (26,0%). Foi observada uma correlação positiva com significância estatística entre a resiliência e a capacidade funcional, de modo que o aumento de uma variável está correlacionado à elevação da outra. Conclusão: ao correlacionar a resiliência com a capacidade funcional dos idosos, observou-se relação positiva e proporcional entre essas variáveis, o que ressalta a capacidade funcional como um importante instrumento para o desenvolvimento da resiliência no idoso com diabetes. Descritores: Resiliência Psicológica; Atividades Cotidianas; Idoso; Diabetes Mellitus.

HIV/AIDS and Seniors: Knowledge of the Elderly about the Disease

Introduction: the spread of HIV/AIDS in the elderly population is already characterized as a serious public health problem, requiring the development of actions and strategies to reduce the vulnerability of these individuals. Objective: identifying the knowledge of older people about HIV/AIDS. Method: this is an exploratory-descriptive study of a qualitative approach, developed with 26 elderly enrolled in three Family Health Strategies of the city of Cajazeiras, Paraiba, Brazil. Data were collected through interviews with a structured questionnaire and analyzed according to the Content Analysis Technique proposed by Bardin. Results: participants were 26 elderly, most of whom were women belonging to the age group of 60-69 years old and married. From the analysis of the speeches of the participants emerged the theme category Knowledge about HIV/AIDS, with the following subcategories: Definition, Sources of Information, Treatment and Prognosis. Conclusion: it showed that many seniors have relevant knowledge about the disease; however, most of this is insufficient or surrounded by the mystification of knowledge rooted in the popular daily life.

Knowledge and Opinions of Nursing Professionals about Pressure Ulcers Prevention

Introduction: The pressure ulcer is a persistent public health problem, with burden to patients, family and health institutions. Health professionals should have appropriate knowledge to ensure the effectiveness on preventing of these injuries and treat them properly when they happen.