Active ageing: Social representations of health professionals in Elderly Health Reference Units

Abstract

Objective: To identify social representations of health professionals providing elderly care in seven Elderly Health Reference Units in Sao Paulo city regarding health necessities, their role in care and promotion of active ageing. Method: Qualitative research, based on directives from the document "Active ageing: a policy framework" by the World Health Organization. The Discourse of the Collective Subject is employed to systematize social representations, whose central ideas were categorized using the QualiQuantiSoft® program. Four reference situations were elaborated and the one related to iatrogenesis and elder vulnerability was selected. Results: Twenty-nine professionals took part in this study (sixteen physicians, seven nutritionists and six nurses). Seven categories emerged from the central ideas, with higher frequency for medical conduct disagreement on referring the patient to the Basic Health Unit and the polypharmacy issue. Conclusion: Discourse by professionals point out the necessity of creating care that overcomes the fragmentation of the work process.