Condições de vida e saúde de idosas negras residentes em Santa Maria, RS

Abstract

Population aging in Brazil causes changes and challenges that the State will have to face, due to the peculiarities of the country. The absence of research on elderly black women made invisible by society makes me rethink and motivates me to empower other researchers on this topic of gender, race and aging, collectively contributing to society. Aging has a direct impact on epidemiological, social, economic, environmental factors and on the living and health conditions of elderly black women. Given the above, this study sought to identify the living and health conditions of black elderly women who seek health care in the city of Santa Maria - RS. The research methodology used was of a quantitative nature, being of the descriptive type, using the following questionnaires: Older Americans Resources and Services, WHOQOL-OLD and the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), as the main instruments for data collection. The research was carried out with 53 black elderly women, who judged their quality of life as fair or good, most of them young, widowed, with low education and retired. This study demonstrated that racial inequalities and institutional racism are barriers to accessing preventive health services for older black women. A structural change in public policies is needed to reduce the alarming trends related to health inequalities through actions on the social determinants of health, with a new vision in public health where policies reach the parts of the population they are intended for with knowledge of their needs and desires.