Older adults with physical disabilities: vulnerabilities relative to the body, the physical and social environment

Abstract

Objective: to understand the vulnerabilities of older adults with physical disabilities regarding their body, physical and social environments. Method: this was a qualitative study based on Alfred Schütz’ social phenomenology, with 15 older adults with physical disability from Cuiabá, state of Mato Grosso, Brazil. Open-ended questionnaires were administered to the participants in 2017. The units of meaning that emerged were organized into thematic categories. Results: physical decline, associated with the permanence of environmental and social barriers intensified the vulnerabilities of older adults. Gaps in health services are mitigated by informal social support networks and access to work was a form of social inclusion. Final considerations: vulnerabilities in the old age of persons with physical disabilities did not reside only in the body dimension, but also the physical and social environment, countering healthcare models based on the logic of reverting their dysfunctional body.