Ageded people life quality and health in the City of Barreiras

Abstract

Life quality is a topic that had been highlighted on discussions about the population longer life; which would be the individual and/or group condition of the physical and social well being in the society, the conditions and values present in the way the one gets older, and to its personal history and age group. This work intended to visualize, on ageded people context, their self-evaluation concerning the life quality. A studying work had been made in a transversal cut about life quality, involving individuals of 60 years old, who attend to Universidade Aberta a Melhor Idade da Faculdade São Francisco de Barreiras (Open University to Best Age of São Francisco de Barreiras university), at the Clube da Melhor Idade (Best Age Club) in the city of Aged people Asylum, in Barreiras City (BA) in 2005. The audience was composed by 49 people including both genders, which corresponds to around 10% of aged population. As a reference about life quality, a questionary had been used, the BOAS (GOOD) questionary adapted into our reality. The variables of the instrument included: references to the social and economical issues, demographic data, food, physical activity, sexuality, daily routine activity, cited morbid process, self perception of the health state, living satisfaction, medicine usage, personal hygiene, general medical care usage. Due to the results, major aged people (62,62%) who had been interviewed were retired, 60,60% said they are satisfied with their revenue source and 14,15% live by themselves. The health problems they mentioned: pain and feeling uncomfortable with their bodies; difficulties for moving up; parts of the body paralysis, frequent falls and breakings; depression; diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity. When being asked about their physical activities, 64,61% stated not being involved with any kind of activity, and the main difficulty they face during the daily life (AVDs) is go up and down along the stairs, 15,16% of the interviewed people, being followed of taking the bus (9,1%).