The Elderly: A New Social Actor ahead of the finitude/death (original) (raw)
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Argumentum, 2014
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The Elderly and Their Experience in Brazil
International Journal of Social Science Studies, 2014
What is the experience of the elderly in Brazil like? This question merits discussion. Concerns with regard to protecting and caring for the elderly have changed in recent decades. The elderly population currently represents around 13% of the total, and the tendency is that this figure will rise over the next few decades. Since the Brazilian Constitution of 1998, a body of legal instruments has been established for protecting the rights of the elderly. This paper tries to analyze this experience of the elderly in relation to public policies. The public policies that have been introduced over the last three decades have contributed towards the elderly becoming more independent. The work is also based on data and studies that have been developed about the elderly and ageing. It was found that the elderly have become more independent, despite the obstacles.
The elderly in Brazil: demographic transition, profile, and socioeconomic condition
Revista Brasileira de Estudos de População, 2020
This paper presents a revision about the elderly population in Brazil, addressing aspects of the demographic transition as it relates to socio-economic conditions and some consequences and trends associated with policies affecting Brazil’s elderly. Since a demographic transition has been occurring as a result of the aging of the Brazilian population, we identify a majority profile of Brazilian elderly as White women who live in urban areas in couple-without-children households, and possessing on average an education of 6.1 years and a smaller than minimum wage. We show that the vast majority of the elderly in Brazil receive some form of government income transfer that have a positive effect on poverty reduction in the segment. Finally, we show that there will be some future natural consequences and trends affecting the profile of the aging population, and that adjustments will need to be made by the government in terms of health and social security spending in order to mitigate the ...
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Geriatrics & Gerontology International, 2009
In the last three decades, the segment of population aged 60 years and older has more than doubled in Brazil. People aged 80 years and older are expected to be the fastest-growing segment in the near future. This aim of this study was to analyze the legal structures currently in place in Brazil and to provide a framework for care policies and practices towards older-adults. Methods: This article focuses on past and present major socioeconomic burdens on this segment of the Brazilian population as well as on public achievements to overcome inequities. Results: Both the public health and the social security systems have been directed to provide preferential assistance to the aged. Nonetheless, the elderly remain the most impoverished segment of Brazil and carry the burden of an overall lack of specialized services. Moreover, socioeconomic inequalities and population diversity in Brazil affects elderly care, adding complexity to this unique scenario. Conclusion: Brazil has adopted legal hallmarks that substantially shifted public practices towards the elderly segment from a philanthropic status to a legitimate right for care and assistance. The demographic transition that took place provides an opportunity for innovative solutions in public policies for older adults in a developing economic environment.
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Revista da Escola de Enfermagem da USP, 2012
O presente estudo teve como objetivo identificar as atividades políticas implementadas pela enfermagem gerontológica no Brasil, para sua consolidação como especialidade no atendimento ao idoso, no período de 1970 a 1996. Trata-se de um estudo descritivo-qualitativo, com abordagem histórica, que utiliza a história oral temática e que se realizou com catorze enfermeiras pioneiras na área. As categorias encontradas foram: 1. Organização política da área; e 2. Relação da área com o Estado. Os resultados identificam como exemplos de atividades políticas: a realização das jornadas brasileiras, com objetivo de agregar pesquisadores interessados na temática; criação do Departamento Científico de Enfermagem Gerontológica; e a participação efetiva da enfermagem na elaboração de políticas públicas no país. A especialidade tem consciência da relevância política para sua construção e vem empreendendo esforços para alcançar reconhecimento como área do conhecimento na equipe multidisciplinar de at...
The old lady from Ipanema: Changing notions of old age in Brazil
This article identifies the main categories, notions, and values associated with aging in articles published in urban Brazilian print media 1967–2002, and uses these categories to trace several historical changes regarding what constitutes 'successful aging' in Brazil. The historical changes include the transition of aging from a divine to more worldly concern; from a male to predominantly female preoccupation; from 'old age' to 'third age'. These transitions are intertwined with new moral hierarchies, and are linked to the medicalization of old age in the late twentieth century.
Sixty plus: the elderly Brazilians and their new social roles
2005
* This chapter was translated from Portuguese to English by Eoin O'Neill and reviewed by Ana Amélia Camarano. The authors would like to thank Bruno Negreiros for his work with the bibliography and the data tabulations. 1. Elderly people defined here are those aged 60 or over, as stipulated in the National Policy for Elderly People. Arq_06_Cap_01.pmd 6/10/2006, 11:40 25 2. This is the ratio between the number of men and women in a given population. 2.2.2 The feminisation of the old age Ageing is also a gender question. Looking at the elderly population as a whole, it can be seen that in 2000, 55% are women. When broken down by age subgroups, the difference between these proportions increases, especially among the oldest elderly people. Figure 4 shows the sex ratio 2 of the elderly population by age subgroups. The older the population is, the higher the proportion of females, a fact explained by the differentiated sex mortality. This leads to the statement that "the world of the very old people is a world of women" [Carstensen and Pasupathi, apud Goldani (1999)]. The higher proportion of women among the elderly population has also become more significant over time. Although the Brazilian elderly sex ratio increased between 1940 and 1960, its trend since then has been towards a sharp decline. Female predominance among elderly people is an urban phenomenon. In rural areas, men predominate. The higher participation of women in Arq_06_Cap_01.pmd 6/10/2006, 11:41 29 TABLE 2
Brazilian population ageing: differences in well-being by rural and urban areas
IPEA. Texto para Discussäo, 2002
The main purpose of this paper is to discuss the relationship between ageing and dependence and the role of social policies in Brazil according to rural and urban areas. In other words, is being elderly in rural areas different from being elderly in urban areas? And if it is found to be so, which dimension of life is affected? How is the social security policy affecting these conditions? As Brazilian national data mask regional differences, the paper also places attention on certain differences between the Northeast (the Brazilian poorest region) and the Southeast (the richest region in this process. In this paper, old age is considered to start at the age of 60. Four dimensions of elderly life are considered, to note: familial arrangements, health conditions, economic activities and income. This is considered taking into account the composition of this group by age and gender according to rural and urban areas. The main data analysed are those from the General Household Surveys (PNAD) of 1981 and 1999. Empirical evidence has shown that in Brazil the relationship between ageing and dependence is not so straightforward. It has shown that the Brazilian elderly are living longer and better. Based on these, one can say that their gains were substantial throughout the studied time period. Poverty and the proportion of elderly without any earnings whatsoever decreased dramatically. They were more marked for the elderly living in rural areas, especially among females. Nevertheless, there is less poverty among the elderly living in urban areas as well. Actually, there is less poverty in general among urban families. Relative better life conditions experienced by the elderly population are contrasted with the effects of the continuous economic crisis experienced by the Brazilian economy. This has affected the young population more through unemployment, violence, drugs, teenage pregnancy, marital disruption, etc. Poverty increased among the non-elderly urban population aged 25 to 59. As a result, there has been an increase in the time adult children spend as dependents of their parents. The composition of the families with elderly living in has changed to become more complex than the expected "empty nest". Summarizing, one can say that there has been a change of status for the elderly within their own families, modifying their traditional role of dependent to that of provider. Three factors have been important in enabling such a situation: the widespread coverage of social security, health policies and improvements in medical technology. Nevertheless, better life condition for the elderly has meant marked costs in terms of social security benefits and health policies. Concern with social security costs is a frequent theme in literature. Nevertheless, the unexpected effects of the spread of social security benefit coverage on the elderly and their families should not be neglected in any public policy evaluation. There are 13 million benefited families. This huge value characterises the social security policy as a modern social policy capable of reducing at lest partially, Brazilian poverty.
2020
Objective: To characterize the scientific production of knowledge about public policies for the elderly in Brazil in the areas of health, violence, education and social assistance/participation. Method: scoping review, searching the databases of the VHL, CAPES, ERIC, PubMed, Redalyc and Scielo, since 2003, creation of the Elderly Statute, considering the descriptors 'public policy', 'elderly', 'aged', 'older adults', and their correspondents in Portuguese and Spanish, using the Boolean operators 'AND' and 'OR'. Results: The search resulted in the selection of 21 articles aimed at the elderly in Brazil. The articles presented publications of public policies with little empirical methodologies and a lot of bibliographic research. The Elderly Statute and the Federal Constitution are the most commonly used legal documents in public policy studies. The areas of health, violence and social assistance have exclusive policies for the elderly, ...