Vulnerabilities, welfare expectations and quality of life in aging

Abstract

Resumo/Abstract With aging greater vulnerabilities appear, namely concerning health, social and inadequacy of social support networks, nourishment and autonomy in the performance of daily tasks. Notwithstanding, the real needs of older people are not understood by everyone, and there is still little concern in hearing what they think and feel about their lives. Residential structures are one of the most equated responses by the elderly in Portugal. So, it is important to know the reality experienced in this context, researching to what extent it contributes or not to prevent or minimize vulnerabilities in this age group. The part of the study presented here aimed to access the individual perspective of the elderly about the possibilities and barriers to their quality of life in residential structure, exploring dimensions such as decision power, executive autonomy, interpersonal relationship and perceived social support. Twenty semi-structured interviews were conducted with elderly people between 80 and 91 years old, having been fully transcribed and analyzed through content analysis. The results indicate that there is no decision-making power on the part of the elderly, low stimulating activities, relationship with caregivers is mostly positive although limited, relationship with other users is superficial and sometimes troubled. Social support is mainly seen as coming from caregivers and family.