THE EXPERI EN CE OF AGI N G: A PHEN OMEN OLOGI CAL PERSPECTI VE
Mar ia da Gr aça da Silv a1 Magali Roseir a Boem er2
Silv a MG, Boem er MR. The ex per ience of aging: a phenom enological per spect iv e. Rev Lat ino- am Enfer m agem 2009 m aio- j unho; 17( 3) : 380- 6.
This qualit at iv e st udy w it h a phenom enological appr oach look ed at elder ly people ( 60 y ear s of age or m or e) w ho at t end t w o Elder ly Com m unit y Cent er s locat ed in a st at e capit al in Cent r al- West er n Br azil. The goal w as t o u n d er st an d t h e ex p er ien ce of ag in g t h r ou g h t h e ex p er ien ce of p eop le w h o ar e ag in g an d it s m ean in g f or
nur sing pr act ice. Phenom enological int er v iew r esour ces w er e used, w it h t he follow ing guiding quest ion: “ What is it like t o r each t his age? To live so m any year s?” The r esult s show ed t hat t hese people’s m ain concer ns ar e: t o show t hat t hey do not lose t heir ident it y because t hey age and t hat , som et im es, in spit e of t heir chr onological
age, t h ey do n ot f eel aged; t h ey ex pect ack n ow ledgem en t as cit izen s; t h ey r ein f or ce t h at bein g h ealt h y is essent ial and gr ant s t hem aut onom y in t heir liv es; t hey em phasize t he im por t ance of fam ily suppor t , life and car e; t hey v alue financial independence and av oid t alk ing about t he finit e nat ur e of hum an beings.
DESCRI PTORS: nur sing; aging; aged
LA VI VEN CI A DE EN VEJECER EN LA PERSPECTI VA FEN OMEN OLÓGI CA
Se t r at a de u n est u dio de n at u r aleza cu alit at iv a, con du cido segú n el abor daj e f en om en ológico; t ien e com o in for m an t es los an cian os ( 6 0 añ os de edad o m ás) , v isit an t es de los Cen t r os de Con v iv en cia de la Per son a
An cian a ( CCA) , localizad os en la cap it al d e u n est ad o d el cen t r o oest e d e Br asil. El ob j et iv o es t r at ar d e ent ender la vivencia de envej ecer a t r avés de la vivencia de las per sonas que est án envej eciendo y com pr ender el significado que t iene par a la pr áct ica de la enfer m er ía. Fuer on ut ilizadas pr esuposiciones fenom enológicas
de la ent r evist a, con las siguient es pr egunt as or ient ador as “ ¿Cóm o es llegar esa edad? y ¿Cóm o es vivir t ant os años?” Las pr eocupaciones pr incipales de est as per sonas son: m ost r ar que ellos no pier den su ident idad por el envej ecer o por la edad cr onológica, ellos no se sient en ancianos; sin em bar go, esper an ser r econocidos com o ciudadanos; ellos r efuer zan que t ener salud es esencial y hacen lo posible par a m ant ener la aut onom ía sobr e
sus vidas; ellos le dan énfasis a la im por t ancia de r ecibir apoyo, de la convivencia y del cuidado en la fam ilia; ellos v alor an la independencia financier a y ellos ev it an hablar sobr e la condición finit a del ser hum ano.
DESCRI PTORES: en f er m er ía; en v ej ecim ien t o; an cian o
VI VEN DO O EN VELHECER: UMA PERSPECTI VA FEN OMEN OLÓGI CA
Est e est udo é de nat ur eza qualit at iv a, conduzido segundo a abor dagem fenom enológica, t endo com o suj eit os pessoas idosas ( 60 anos de idade ou m ais) , fr equent ador as de dois Cent r os de Convivência do I doso, localizados na capit al de um Est ado da Região Cent r o- Oest e do Br asil. Pr opost a: com pr eensão da v iv ência do env elhecer
por m eio da ex per iência v iv ida pela pessoa que est á env elhecendo e o significado desse ex per ienciar par a a p r át ica d e en f er m ag em . For am u t ilizad os os r ecu r sos d a en t r ev ist a f en om en ológ ica, t en d o com o q u est ão n or t eador a Com o é ch egar a est a idade? Viv er t an t os an os?. Os r esu lt ados ev iden ciar am qu e as pr in cipais
pr eocu pações dessas pessoas são: m ost r ar qu e n ão per dem su a iden t idade por ficar em idosas e, às v ezes, ap esar d a id ad e cr on ológ ica, n ão se sen t em en v elh ecid as; esp er am o r econ h ecim en t o en q u an t o cid ad ãos; r efor çam que t er saúde é essencial e lhes possibilit a m ant er aut onom ia sobr e suas vidas; enfat izam a im por t ância
do apoio, da convivência e do cuidado na fam ília; valor izam a independência financeir a e evit am falar sobr e a finit ude do ser hum ano.
DESCRI TORES: en f er m agem ; en v elh ecim en t o; idoso
1Ph.D. in Nur sing, Facult y, Univer sidade Federal de Mat o Gr osso do Sul, Brasil, e- m ail: gr acasilva- m s@br t ur bo.com .br ; 2Ph.D. in Nur sing, Associat e Pr ofessor,
Escola de Enfer m agem de Ribeir ão Pr et o, da Univer sidade de São Paulo, WHO Collabor at ing Cent r e for Nur sing Resear ch Developm ent, Br azil, e- m ail: boem er v al@gm ail. com .
I NTRODUCTI ON
I
nt er est in t he t hem e – aging – em er ged aft er s o m e y e a r s o f p r o f e s s i o n a l n u r s i n g e x p e r i e n c e ,especially at t he m edical clinic, w here it seem ed t hat
ag i n g w as a sy n o n y m o f d i sease an d d eat h . Th i s
per spect ive is loaded w it h m eaning for w hoever know s
p eo p l e w h o n eed car e i n t h i s sp eci al t y : g en er al l y
eld er ly p eop le, w it h ch r on ic- d eg en er at iv e d iseases,
l o n g h o s p i t a l i z a t i o n s a n d a h i g h m o r t a l i t y r a t e .
Exper iences w it h t hese people gave for m t o t he t hem e
of t his r esear ch. The aut hor t hen st ar t ed t o quest ion:
i s t h i s l i f e : d r e a m s ca m e t r u e , f r u st r a t e d , w o r k ,
disease and deat h? But , despit e t he physical changes,
I feel I can do m uch m or e! So, w hat is t his: aging?
I n t hat sense, t he r esear ch m or e specifically
at t em pt ed t o under st and aging fr om t he per spect iv e
of people consider ed of advanced age, as t hat is w her e
t h e con cer n s ar e r ef lect ed in . Th u s, by qu est ion in g
t he m eaning of liv ing up t o t he so- called t hir d age,
t he expect at ion w as t o find a m eaning of nur sing car e
f o r t h ese p eo p l e, co n t r i b u t i n g t o a m o r e h u m a n e
acad em ic ed u cat ion an d aim in g f or com p r eh en siv e
car e deliv er y t o t h is sign if ican t popu lat ion gr ou p in
cu r r en t societ y.
Aging is a sequent ial, indiv idual, ir r ev er sible,
n on - pat h ological pr ocess m ar k ed by t h e ex h au st ion
of a m at ur e or ganism , char act er ist ic of all m em ber s
of a species, so t hat t im e m akes t hem less capable of
f a ci n g t h e st r ess i n t h e en v i r o n m en t , w h i ch t h u s
increases t heir possibilit y of dying( 1). I t is a cont inuous
a n d p r o g r essi v e p r o cess, i n w h i ch m o r p h o l o g i ca l ,
f u n ct i o n a l , b i o ch e m i ca l , so ci a l a n d p sy ch o l o g i ca l
ch an ges occu r( 2 ).
Fr om a chr onological and legal v iew point , in
t he Br azilian cont ext , elder ly ar e people aged 60 year s
or older ( Law n. 10.741, issued on Oct ober 1st 2003) .
A per son is con sider ed elder ly w h en com plet in g 6 5
y e a r s i n a d e v e l o p e d c o u n t r y a n d 6 0 y e a r s i n
dev elopin g cou n t r ies( 3 ).
The “ dem ogr aphic phenom enon of incr eased
l i f e ex p ect an cy an d a l ar g er p r o p o r t i o n o f el d er l y
people in societ ies has been a source of concern and
has ar oused debat es about old age and aging in all
cont ex t s...”, w hich is w hy t hese issues ar e ev ident in
cu r r en t societ y( 4 ). Th e Br azilian p op u lat ion ov er 6 0
years of age has been incr easing in t he last decades.
The num ber of elder ly ( 60 year s of age) gr ew fr om 3
m illion in 1960 t o 7 m illion in 1975 and 14 m illion in
2002 ( 500% incr ease in for t y year s) , w it h an est im at ed
num ber of 3 2 m illion in 2 0 2 0 , r epr esent ing 1 5 - 1 6 %
of t he t ot al populat ion( 2,5).
Th e p r o p o r t i o n o f t h e “ e l d e r e l d e r l y ”
popu lat ion , t h at is, 8 0 y ear s of age or older, in t h e
t ot al Brazilian populat ion is also increasing. From 166
t h ou san d people in 1 9 4 0 , t h e “ elder elder ly ” gr ou p
incr eased t o alm ost 1.5 m illion in 1996. I t r epr esent ed
11.7% of t he elder ly populat ion and 0.9% of t he t ot al
populat ion in 1996( 6).
I n p a r a l l e l w i t h t h e m o d i f i ca t i o n s i n t h e
popu lat ion py r am id, diseases ch ar act er ist ic of agin g
becom e m ore expressive in societ y. One of t he result s
of t hese dynam ics is t he incr easing dem and for healt h
s e r v i c e s . Th e e l d e r l y u s e t h e s e s e r v i c e s m o r e
f r eq u en t l y, h osp i t al i zat i on s ar e p er i od i cal an d b ed
occu pat ion t im e is lon ger in com par ison w it h ot h er
age r anges. I n gener al, elder ly people’s diseases ar e
chr onic and m ult iple, last sev er al y ear s and dem and
co n st a n t f o l l o w - u p , p e r m a n e n t ca r e , co n t i n u o u s
m edicat ion and per iodical t est s( 7). Hence, m eans ar e
n eeded t o in cor por at e t h e elder ly in ou r societ y, t o
change in- r oot ed concept s and use new t echnologies,
w i t h i n n o v a t i o n a n d w i sd o m , so a s t o f a i r l y a n d
d em ocr at ically ach iev e eq u it y in t h e d ist r ib u t ion of
s e r v i c e s a n d f a c i l i t i e s t o t h e s t r o n g e s t g r o w i n g
populat ion gr oup in our count r y.
Consider ing aging as a significant issue t hat
i s i n h e r e n t i n h u m a n e x i s t e n c e a n d d e s e r v e s a
com pr eh en siv e look , t h e pr oposal of t h is st u dy w as
t o u n d e r s t a n d t h e m e a n i n g o f a g i n g f r o m t h e
per spect iv e of people w h o ex per ien ce t h is sit u at ion
and how t heir ex per iences can cont r ibut e t o nur sing
pr act ice. I n v iew of t he abov e, t he pr esent st udy is
j ust ified by v ar ious aut hor s’ aler t on t he incr ease of
t his populat ion and it s im plicat ions for healt h pract ice.
M ET H O D O LO GI CAL T R AJECT O R Y AN D
EXPERI ENCE SCENARI OS
Th is st u d y at t em p t ed t o u n d er st an d ag in g
based on t h e ex per ien ce of each su bj ect , h ow each
p e r s o n s h o w s h i m / h e r s e l f i n r e l a t i o n t o h i s / h e r
c o n s c i e n c e a s e m o t i o n s a n d s e n s a t i o n s . Th e
phenom enological appr oach was chosen because “ We
b e l i e v e t h a t t h e p h e n o m e n o l o g i c a l r e f e r e n c e
fr am ew or k can cont r ibut e in t he at t em pt t o under st and
t he hum an being w e t ake car e of, t he m an, t he subj ect
of t his car e. Pr ofessional and client ar e bot h, subj ect
and obj ect , w ho com plet e one anot her and exper ience
The follow ing is under st ood: “ ... t he need and
t he dem and of pr oblem s t o be ex am ined by nur sing
t h r ou g h i n n ov at i v e r ef er en ce f r am ew or k s t h at ar e
c a p a b l e o f f o c u s i n g o n h u m a n b e i n g s i n a
com prehensive way, also based on t heir social, cult ural
and psychological br anches”( 9). Phenom enology show s
t h at h u m an b ei n g s ar e n ot ob j ect s an d t h at t h ei r
at t it udes cannot be seen as m er e r eact ions( 10).
Re s e a r c h e r s w h o d e c i d e f o r a
p h e n o m e n o l o g i c a l r e s e a r c h h a v e d o u b t s a b o u t
so m e t h i n g t h a t m a k e t h e m q u e st i o n , f o l l o w i n g a
t r a j e ct o r y t o w a r d s t h e p h e n o m e n o n t h r o u g h t h e
s u b j e c t w h o e x p e r i e n c e s a s i t u a t i o n . T h e
ph en om en on em er ges fr om t h e su bj ect w h o k n ow s,
t hr ough ex per ience and a per spect iv e on t he w or ld,
sh ow in g him / her self t o t he r esear cher s w ho at t em pt
t o ca p t u r e t h e essen ce o f t h a t p h en o m en o n . Th e
phenom enological appr oach can cont r ibut e w hen t he
cent r al st udy quest ion is t he subj ect as a per son w ho
ex per ien ces t h e w or ld in a ch ar act er ist ic w ay – t h e
per son t aken car e of, t he subj ect of car e act ions. The
p r e m i se o f Nu r si n g i s t o u n d e r st a n d m a n i n t h e
hist or ical- cult ur al cont ex t of his ow n ex ist ence( 11).
The st udy subj ect s w er e elder ly people w ho
at t en ded t w o Elder ly Com m u n it y Cen t er s locat ed in
a s t a t e c a p i t a l i n Ce n t r a l - We s t e r n B r a z i l . A f t e r
obt aining aut horizat ion from t he Municipal Social Work
Secr et ar y an d t h e co o r d i n at o r s o f t h e Co m m u n i t y
Cent er s, t he aut hor st ar t ed t o at t end t he t w o st udy
sit es w eek ly and w as pr esent on differ ent occasions
b e t w e e n Au g u st 2 0 0 5 a n d Ju n e 2 0 0 6 , w h e n sh e
at t em pt ed t o inhabit t he w or ld of t hese inst it ut ions.
Aft er t he I nst it ut ional Review Boar d at t he Univer sit y
of São Pau lo at Ribeir ão Pr et o College of Nu r sin g –
EERP/ USP, h ad appr ov ed t h e pr oj ect dat a collect ion
st ar t ed, last ing fr om Mar ch t o June 2006, w it h w eekly
visit s t o t he st udy sit es.
Th e m eet i n g s w er e sch ed u l ed an d , at t h e
m o m e n t o f t h e i n d i v i d u a l i n t e r v i e w , t h e su b j e ct s
r eceived m ore det ailed infor m at ion about t he r esearch
pr oposal. I f t h ey agr eed t o par t icipat e, t h ey sign ed
t h e f r ee an d in f or m ed con sen t t er m ( ap p r ov ed b y
t he I nst it ut ional Rev iew Boar ds at EERP/ USP and t he
Feder al Univer sit y of Mat o Gr osso do Sul - UFMS) and
r ecei v ed w r i t t en o r i en t at i o n s. Th i s car e cr eat ed a
cl i m at e of em p at h y an d t r u st b et w een t h e p eop l e
in v olv ed in t h e m eet in g , p er m it t in g com p r eh en siv e
“ l i s t e n i n g ” . Pe r m i s s i o n w a s a s k e d t o r e c o r d t h e
st at em ent s and all subj ect s agr eed; only one int er view
w as not r ecor ded because of t echnical pr oblem s.
The phenom enological int erviews were guided
by t he following quest ion: What is it like t o reach t his
age? To live so m any years? At t em pt s were m ade not
t o u se t h e m ost com m on t er m s u sed t o d esig n at e
people in t his age range, such as t hird age, Best age,
old n ess, r ep laced b y ag in g . Th e t er m s eld er ly an d
elderly person w ere also used as alt ernat ives for old,
a s s o m e p e r s o n s c o u l d c o n s i d e r t h e s e t e r m s
depreciat ive. No t im e lim it was set ; t his t im e depended
on t he people’s willingness t o describe t heir experience.
“ Se e i n g a n d o b se r v i n g f r o m a p h e n o m e n o l o g i ca l
perspect ive m eans seeing and observing based on t he
c l i e n t ’ s s p a c e a n d t i m e ” , c a p t u r i n g h i s / h e r
subj ect iv it y( 12).
Sev ent een int er v iew s w er e held, nine at t he
Elias Lahdo Elderly Com m unit y Cent er ( ECC) and eight
at t he João Nogueir a Vieir a ECC. I n t he for m er, t w o
m en and seven wom en part icipat ed, wit h ages ranging
bet ween 61 and 78 years old; in t he lat t er, seven wom en
and one m an part icipat ed, wit h ages ranging from 66
t o 83 years. This descript ion reveals t he general realit y
of t h e st u dy sit es: t h e gr ou p is h et er ogen eou s, bu t
m ost ly fem ale, and par t icipant s’ ages var y.
At t h e en d of each in t er v iew , t h e t ape w as
r et u r n ed t o a l l o w t h e p a r t i ci p a n t t o l i st en t o t h e
recording, com plem ent ing or m odifying what had been
sa i d . Th i s p r o ce d u r e i s j u st i f i e d b y t h e f a ct t h a t
phenom enological int er view s look for a language t hat
is “ original speech”, a “ speech” t hat perm it s m ediat ion
wit h t he ot her person and com m unicat ion wit h t he world,
going bey ond t he sum of t hought s and ideas, w her e
t he fundam ent al at t it ude is “ list ening”( 12). Moreover, it
w as a w ay of guar ant eeing t o t he subj ect s t hat only
what t hey had perm it t ed, t hat is, t he recordings would
be used.
The elem ent s for analy sis em er ged fr om t he
descript ions obt ained during t he int erviews. St at em ent s
were fully t ranscribed, perform ing prelim inary reading
and r epor t ing back t o t he m om ent of t he m eet ing t o
a ch i e v e f a m i l i a r i t y w i t h e a ch r e p o r t . No n - v e r b a l
com m unicat ion aspect s w er e consider ed her e, w hich
ar e con st it u en t elem en t s of t h e st u dy ph en om en on ,
i n cl u d i n g p o st u r e , g e st u r e s, t o n e o f v o i ce , f a ci a l
ex pr ession and silence( 12).
THE POSSI BI LI TI ES OF BEI NG
I n t he at t em pt t o per sonalize t he st at em ent s
h ow ev er, pr eser v in g t h eir iden t it y, t h e au t h or ch ose
t o i d e n t i f y t h e m b y f i ct i t i o u s n a m e s, a d d i n g t h e
num ber of t he int er v iew and each per son’s age.
Th e d i f f er en t r ea d i n g s o f t h e st a t em en t s,
individually and j oint ly, gradually show ed t he m eaning
of aging fr om t he per spect ive of each elder ly per son’s
e x p e r i e n c e . B a s e d o n t h e s e s t a t e m e n t s ,
i n t e r c o n n e c t e d w i t h t h e a u t h o r ’ s p e r s o n a l a n d
p r of ession al ex p er ien ces an d t h e ob ser v at ion s t h at
em er g ed f r om con t act w it h each p er son , an ag in g
e x p e r i e n c e t h a t d i f f e r e d f r o m p r e c o n c e p t i o n s
pr esen t ed it self in it s v ar iou s possibilit ies of bein g.
The int er pr et at ion of t he t est im onies allow ed fr om a
par t ial under st anding of t he essence of t he r esear ch
p h en o m en o n , w i t h o u t l o si n g t h e r i ch n ess o f ea ch
in t er v iew ’s su bj ect iv it y.
I n t h is u n v eilin g, it w as per ceiv ed t h at t h e
people do not feel t hat t hey ar e aging, but t hat t hey
are cont inuing t o experience anot her m om ent in t heir
exist ence: [ ...] I t hink I am not really t he m ost indicat ed person,
you know , t o say w hat aging is like because, in fact , I don’t feel t hat I ’m aging, I feel t hat I ’m living and incr easingly gaining experience ( Alice 9 , 6 6 )*.
Th i s si t u at i o n i s t r an sl at ed as t h e co n f l i ct
ex p r essed in t h e f ollow in g in q u ir y “ . . . if t h e m od el
o f o l d a g e h a s a l w a y s b e e n m a r k e d b y p h y si ca l
an d p sy ch olog ical d eclin e an d d ist an cin g f r om t h e
social w or ld , w h o am I , at t h e ag e of 6 0 , w it h v it alit y
an d social n eed s?( 4 )”. Accor d in g t o t h e au t h or, t h e
an sw er is t h at , w h en con sid er in g t h e sin g u lar it y of
p eop le as su b j ect s of t h e ex p er ien ce an d , in v iew
o f Hei d eg g er ’ s p h i l o so p h i ca l p r em i ses, t h a t t h ese
p eo p l e a r e i n a st a t e o f a b so l u t e f r eed o m a s, a s
B e i n g s , t h e y m a n a g e t o p r o p e r l y a s s u m e t h e i r
“ h a v i n g t o b e ” e l d e r l y, t h a t i s, t h e y a ssu m e t h e
r e sp o n si b i l i t y a n d w e i g h t o f b e i n g l a u n ch e d i n t o
t h e w o r l d , ex p er i en ci n g t h ei r ag i n g .
Tran scen din g t h e socially im posed lim it s on
t he m ore advanced ages of life, t hese people face old
age as a golden age for pleasu r e an d for ach iev in g
dream s t hey had post poned. I ’m fine, I feel fine, I ’m happy, I live happily, I ’m t here wit h m y grandson, I play wit h m y grandson, I have m y m oney, I get a ret irem ent benefit , when I want t o go out I go out , when I want t o t ravel I t ravel, when I want t o eat “ som et hing” , I buy and eat it , and I ’m living ( Barbara 8, 73) .
For som e, r et ir em ent is no longer a m ar k of
t he passage t o old age or a w ay of guar ant eeing t he
subsist ence of people w ho, due t o t heir age, can no
l o n g er p er f o r m p r o d u ct i v e w o r k , b u t a p r i v i l eg ed
m om ent for per sonal r enew al, leading t o t he sear ch
for pleasur e and sat isfact ion( 13).
Hence, som e st at em ent s expr ess anot her side
of old age, in cont r ast w it h som e of t he w ell- k now n
d r am as of t h e so- called “ t h ir d age”, pr esen t in g t h e
pleasu r e of j oin t lif e at com m u n it y cen t er s, v alu in g
t he exper ience of being w it h t he ot her, in a range of
possibilit ies of being. [ ...] I alw ays live ver y sat isfied t oo,
because of m y fr iends. . . ( Abr aham 2 , 7 8 ) . [ . . . ] t his t hing of having cont act wit h people, for m e it ’s norm al, I like t o part icipat e, like, going out , t alking t o people, I don’t like t o st ay at hom e quiet for a long t im e, I don’t like j ust sit t ing t her e...I like t o t alk t o people, par t icipat e in t hings... her e at t he com m unit y cent er , in chur ch, in t he associat ion ( Mar ina 7, 61) .
I n a w ay, t h e el d er l y ex p r ess Hei d eg g er ’s
c o n c e p t o f p r e s e n c e h e r e . A c c o r d i n g t o t h a t
p h ilosop h er, p r esen ce is n ot on ly b ein g in a w or ld ,
b u t a l so r e l a t i n g w i t h t h e w o r l d , a cco r d i n g t o a
pr edom inant w ay of being. I n t he w or ld of com m unit y
cent ers, t here is no I isolat ed from ot her people; t here
is som et hing t hat is shared w it h t he ot hers, open as a
possibilit y of m eet ing. This gives rise t o t he possibilit y
of j oint ly liv ing t he ex per ience of aging( 14).
An o t h er a sp ect t h e i n t er v i ew ees r ev ea l ed
w a s h e a l t h . Pe r h a p s b e c a u s e w e s t e r n s o c i e t y
h i g h l i g h t t h e r e ci p r o ca l r e l a t i o n b e t w e e n o l d a g e
a n d d i s e a s e , h e a l t h e m e r g e d a s s o m e t h i n g
essen t ial t o liv e w ell. Th ese p eop le h op e t h at t h e
in cr eased d u r at ion of t h eir liv es w ill b e accom p an ied
b y b et t er q u alit y, so t h at t h ey can r em ain act iv e.
Look , r each in g t h e ag e of 7 0 . . . 7 4 y ear s of ag e it ’s g ood t o b e healt hy...healt hy ( Sar a 12, 74) . –Look, I ... I t hink t hat r eaching t his age, t he m ain t hing is t o be healt hy, t o feel w ell... I believe healt h is som et hing ver y im por t ant ( I da 15, 67) .
For t he elder ly, healt h is “ ... t he capacit y t o
k eep on p er f or m in g f u n ct ion s in t h eir p h y sical an d
social con t ex t , au t on om ou sly an d in d ep en d en t ly –
e x p r e s s i o n s o f f r e e d o m – c o n t r i b u t i n g t o a n d
int eract ing w it h societ y( 15)”.
How ev er, t h e im p osed p h y sical, social an d
em ot ional t r ansfor m at ions do not go by unnot iced for
t h ese p eop le an d ar e sp ecif ied b y t h e d if f icu lt y t o
accep t on e’s ow n ag in g an d t h e p ain of h av in g t o
acknow ledge it in oneself. Look, aging... w e ar e aging and ar e not ... ar e not feeling it , you know ? When you r each a cer t ain age, like m e at t he age of 83, t hen w e feel t hat our j oint s ar e har der , our bones ar e heavier ( Helena 13, 83) .
The r epr esent at ion of old age as a cont inuous
p r o ce ss o f l o sse s, a sso ci a t e d w i t h a b a n d o n m e n t ,
disdain and absence of social r oles, w as r esponsible
for a ser ies of negat ive st er eot ypes about t he elder ly,
but also cont ribut ed t o legit im ize a set of social right s,
including univ er sal r et ir em ent benefit s( 13).
So m e su b j ect s ex p r essed r ev o l t a n d p r o t est o n cer t ain d en om in at ion s, as t h ese p eop le ar e seek in g t h eir sin g u lar it y so as n ot t o b ecom e “ old ” w it h ou t an id en t it y , an im p er son al class. . . . t h is t h in g w it h b est ag e. . . I t h in k it is old - f ash ion ed , y ou k n ow , f r om m y p oin t of v iew , b ecau se it is n ot easy t o look in t h e m ir r or an d see t h e w eig h t of ag e, of w an t in g t o d o, of b ein g d ep en d en t . I am n ot d ep en d in g y et , I ’m st ill v er y self - su f f icien t , at t h e ag e of 6 6 , b u t t h er e ar e people ev en y ou n ger t h an I w h o f u lly depen d on ot h er s. Th at ’s h or r ib le! ( Lu cia 1 4 , 6 6 ) .
Despit e aw ar en ess of t h e m odificat ion s an d
lim it at ion s as t im e ad v an ces, f ew r ef er en ces w er e
m ade t o t he cer t aint y about t he finit eness of hum an
life, and only in a general and im personal sense. Ot her
st at em ent s m ent ion t he t hem e by r efer r ing t o people
close t o t hem w ho died. [ ...] having a good exper ience, in
t he fact of our shor t exist ence... ( I saac 10, 69) . Ever yt hing t hat is bor n dies, if not at a young age, one does not escape w hen old
( Noel 17, 76) . [ ...] because m any, like m y fat her and m y m ot her,
t hey died young, r ight , and I , at t he age of 72, t hanks God, I ’m happy I ’ve got t en t his far ( Mar gar ida 1, 72) .
... t he loss of m y husband, his disease w hich w as ver y sad, ver y, like, ver y exhaust ing also, r ight , it m ade m e feel ver y dist r essed. I t ’s now 4, alm ost 5 year s ago t hat he died, t hen about 3 year s aft er his deat h... t hat w ent by, it w ent by ( pause
and em ot ion) ( Ana 5, 73) .
The t hem e of deat h em er ges as a possibilit y
of t he hum an being, because he is a being- for - deat h,
and ot her people’s deat h is m or e penet r at ing because
it can be accessed “ obj ect ively”. Deat h alw ays happens
w it h ot h er people, as m or t alit y an d deat h ar e on ly
a ck n o w l e d g e d b y t h o se w h o st a y a l i v e . Pe o p l e ’ s
difficult y t o t alk about t heir finit eness rest s in t he fact
t hat , for m ost of t hem , dying m eans leaving t he w or ld,
not being a “ pr esence” anym or e, losing t he being-
in-t he- w or ld( 14).
I f, on t he one hand, t alk ing about finit eness
is av oided, r eligiousness is m anifest ed in ex pr essions
of gr at it u de t o God f or t h e y ear s liv ed alr eady, f or
t he fam ily, for m at er ial r esour ces obt ained, and also
by religious act ivit ies. Thanks God, m y life is w onder ful! ...
at 72 year s of age, t hanks God, I ’m happy I ’ve got t en t his far
( Mar gar ida 1, 72) . [ ...] I t ’s all ver y good, so I can only t hank
God... ( Julia 6, 65) .
Brazil is st ill a predom inant ly apost olic Rom an
Cat holic count ry, but w it h a sm all grow t h rhyt hm ; t he
s e c o n d l a r g e s t p r o p o r t i o n o f r e l i g i o u s p e o p l e
co r r e sp o n d s t o e v a n g e l i ca l s, w i t h a co n si d e r a b l e
i n cr ease i n p en t eco st al s( 1 6 ). Th e el d er l y ar e m o r e
r eligious, w it h st r onger r eligious conv ict ions, w hich is
w h y t h ey r epr esen t a lar ger sh ar e am on g apost olic
Rom an Cat holics as w ell as in ot her r eligions, t o t he
ex t ent t hat ages ar e incr easing( 16).
Bey on d r eligiou sn ess, t h er e is spir it u alit y, a
m uch broader t erm t han religion, w hich is defined as
“ an innat e t endency t ow ar ds God or a higher pow er ”,
r ef er s t o ev er y t h in g in v olv in g a per son ’s ex ist en ce,
s u c h a s s e l f - t r a n s c e n d e n c e , r e l a t i o n s h i p s , l o v e ,
d esir e, cr eat iv it y, alt r u ism , self- sacr if ice, f ait h an d
belief( 17).
Thus, cont act w it h peer s and int er gener at ional
relat ionships are considered fundam ent al for a healt hy
old age, as w ell as pr ox im it y and accept ance in t he
fam ily cor e, as expr essed in t he follow ing st at em ent s.
[...] m y fam ily lives close, m y childr en alw ays com e over at
hom e... I live alone, but m y people are wit h m e ( Abraham 2, 78) . We all live in peace, all children m eet at hom e, they are m arvelous... and w e live in peace. ( Ana 5, 73) .
I n c u r r e n t s o c i e t y, g e n e r a t i o n s l i v e i n
seg m en t ed ar eas, ex cep t f or t h e f am ily con t ex t in
w hich gener at ions m eet m or e fr equent ly( 18). Ther e is
a t r end t ow ar ds inver sion in t he r epr esent at ion of old
ag e, as a p r ocess of losses an d at t r ib u t ion of n ew
m eanings t o t his period in life, w hich get s t reat ed as
a pr iv ileged m om en t f or n ew con qu est s. Th e elder,
w it h t h eir ex per ien ces an d accu m u lat ed k n ow ledge,
seek new oppor t unit ies and est ablish m or e fav or able
r elat ionships w it h t he w or ld of t he y ounger( 18).
At t h e b ase of t h e u n d er st an d in g of b ein g
t her e, t here is t he fact t hat t he w or ld is alw ays shar ed
w it h ot her people. The w or ld of being t her e is a shar ed
w or ld. Hence, our ex ist ence only has m eaning in t he
presence of t he ot her. I t is charact erist ic of t he hum an
condit ion t o live t oget her w it h ot hers, in a net w ork of
significant r elat ionships( 1 4 ).
REFLECTI ONS ABOUT THE UNVEI LED
Old age is su ch a per son al ex per ien ce t h at
only people w ho r each t he m ost adv anced st ages in
lif e can ex p r ess t h is ex p er ien ce. Man y asp ect s can
be com m on, plur al, but t he ex per ience is par t icular,
b y t h e au t h or. For t h ese p eop le, t h er e is n o ag in g
process, but t he cont inuit y of life; t he elderly rem ains
t he sam e per son ( s) he alw ay s has been.
Th e f o l l o w i n g w e r e f o u n d t o b e t h e
in t er v iew ees’ m ain con cer n s: sh ow in g t h at t h ey d o
n ot lose t h eir iden t it y becau se t h ey becom e elder ly
and t hat , som et im es, despit e t he chr onological age,
t h ey d o n ot f eel ag ed ; t h ey ex p ect r ecog n it ion as
cit izens; t hey ex pr ess t hat being healt hy is essent ial
and allow s t hem t o rem ain aut onom ous in t heir lives;
t h ey em p h asize t h e im p or t an ce of f am ily su p p or t ,
c o n t a c t a n d c a r e ; t h e y v a l u e t h e i r f i n a n c i a l
independent and avoid t alking about t he finit eness of
h u m an bein gs.
People in t his st udy show ed t hat , for t hem ,
old ag e is a t im e f or d iscov er in g an d ex p er ien cin g
n ew possibilit ies, w it h ou t con f or m ism , w it h polit ical
and social engagem ent in t he fight t o pr act ice r ight s
t h at ar e gu ar an t eed by law an d ach iev e ot h er s n ot
con qu er ed y et .
Hu m a n ca r e i s co n si d er ed t h e essen ce o f
n u r sin g, per m eat ed by v alu es t h at pr ior it ize peace,
fr eedom , r espect and love. For ger ont ological- ger iat r ic
nursing pract ice, it is fundam ent al t hat t he “ qualit y of
lif e” con cept is m or e h igh ligh t ed t h an t h e “ cu r e f or
t he disease” concept . The pr ior it y is t o pr om ot e elder ly
h ealt h , n ot r em ain in g r est r ict ed t o t h e pat h ological
condit ion. Then, car egiv ing includes t he r educt ion of
for eseeable r isk fact or s. The m ost im por t ant obj ect ive
is t o seek t he per son’s best possible per for m ance, in
w h ich r espect f or t h e ot h er per son ’s au t on om y an d
dignit y is fundam ent al. Thr ough com plicit y and m ut ual
suppor t , one can k now oneself and t he cont ex t one
liv es in, so as t o t r ansfor m r ealit y t oget her w it h t he
ot her. I n t his st udy, t he aut hor believes t hat , t o put
t his act ivit y in pract ice, one needs t o look at t he elderly
p e r so n s a s h i st o r i ca l su b j e ct s, co n si d e r i n g t h e i r
cu lt u r e, f eelin g s an d in q u ir ies, t h eir ex p er ien ce of
ag in g .
Appr oaching t he ex per ience of aging im plies
highlight ing each per son’s subj ect iv it y, st r engt hening
t h e pr of ession al- u ser bon d, of f er in g w elcom in g an d
n u r sin g pr act ice dir ect ed at t h is popu lat ion ’s n eeds
an d ch ar act er ist ics. Th e per spect iv e is t o act based
on t he pr em ise of t he elder ly as a subj ect , and not as
s o m e o n e u s e l e s s a n d d e p e n d e n t , w h o d o e s n o t
m anage t o speak and act for him / her self.
I n t his sense, t o t he ext ent t hat t his r esear ch
per m it t ed under st anding t hese people in t heir aging
pr ocess, it also allow ed for appr ox im at ion, unv eiling
facet s of t his m om ent . As t o gov er nm ent al pr oposals
for effect ive act ions, in view of epidem iological aspect s
and t he Br azilian cont ex t , and also t he ent ir e healt h
edu cat ion dim en sion , k n ow ledge abou t t h ese f acet s
can br in g n u r ses closer t o t h ose people, w elcom in g
t hem in t heir aging, t hr ough act ions t hat cov er t heir
feelings, expect at ions and needs. This is undoubt edly
a n ew an d ex t r em ely n ecessar y t h em e.
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