Avaliação da qualidade de vida e interação familiar em idosos institucionalizados

Abstract

Introduction: In the phase of the senility, the psychosocial, cultural, and hormonal alterations of the elder demand additional cares on the part of the relative, increasing the demand by Institutions of Long Permanence of Elders, as an alternative to support to attend the needs of health and provide activities that guarantee elders quality of life. The literature points out that changing the context of life tend to remove elders of the social and family closeness, injuring its quality of life. Objective: To evaluate quality of life and the family interaction with elders institutionalized elders. Method: This study deals with qualitative and quantitative character, a cross cut and predominance, in which involved a strategic action that all participants were submitted to the same activities. The sample was constituted by 88 resident elders in public institutions (89,80%), of both the sexes (46 men, 42 women), whose average age was of 73.95 years old (DP=6,52) varying between 65 and 93 years old. The participants were grouped in three age groups: young elder (55,70%), old elder (35,20%) and older elder (9,10%). It was carried out individually an interview and applied two questionnaires to evaluate the quality of life; WHOQOL_BREF and WHOQOL_OLD. Results: By extraction of the alpha of Cronbach the internal consistency obtained of the WHOQOL_BREF was good for WHOQOL_OLD was satisfactory indicating an adaptation of those instruments to evaluate life quality in this population. The average were compared through the test t, verifying that the male scores were higher than female score in both questionnaires, being this significant difference barely in the WHOQOL_OLD (t = 3.505, p<0,01). That significance was identified in the future, present, and past activities facets (t (86) = 3.414, p<0,01) and social participation (t (86) = 2.841, p<0,01), always men presented scores of life quality more elevated in the existential questions about life sense, physical arrangement, appearance acceptance, occupational activities, personal achievements, use of the time, community and personal activities levels. The thematic content analysis was carried out with 30 interviews, being chosen answers of 15 elders that presented higher scores and 15 lower scores in the WHOQOL_OLD. Were chosen two main subjects institutional vision and family interaction. The institutional vision revealed four nuclei of sense: cares, fun and leisure, new friendships and welfare. The family interaction showed up three nuclei of sense: maintenance of the good bond, active conflict and bond rupture. Discussion: The institutionalization factor does not mean to have determinant a better or worse perception about the quality of life, by the fact of the elders, independently of the score obtained, stand out with a lot emphasis on aspects and on resulting benefits of institutionalized life, even in cases that the family distance context was more sense. Final considerations: The relation between the quality of life and family interaction is what influence more strongly in that perception, signaling the importance to have of be a more salutary family bond, promoting actions to minimize the harmful effects of the family conflicts about the health and quality of life of the elders.