Syftet med den här uppsatsen är att undersöka hur vårdpersonalen på ett äldreboende resonerar kring äldres behov av aktivitet och social samvaro. I arbetet undersöks hur vårdpersonalens rutiner ser ut och hur social samvaro och aktivering prioriteras för de äldre. Jag använt mig av tidigare forskning, semistrukturerade intervjuer och tre teorier – disengagemangsteorin, aktivitetsteorin och signifikanta andra för att svara på frågeställningarna. Genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med tre personer som arbetar på ett äldreboende fann jag att respondenternas svar överensstämmer med tidigare forskning beträffande att aktivering och social samvaro är viktigt för de äldre. Respondenterna anser att tid för aktivering och social samvaro finns för de äldre och att det måste prioriteras om den äldre själv vill och orkar. Vårdpersonalens resonemang liknar både disengagemangsteorin och aktivitetsteorin, personalen anser att det är den äldre själv som bestämmer i vilken mån aktivering och social samvaro ska prioriteras. / <p>140922</p>

Active ageing of the Czech Republic population in European context Abstract Population ageing is a global process. The active ageing concept aims to enhance life quality and expand participation in society. Active ageing index is a tool for policymakers. The purpose of index is obtaining evidences for public policies planning for older people. The first goal of this thesis is to explore the current situation of active ageing in the Czech Republic, and the second goal is to provide information of domains which do not reach their potential and to improve situation in these domains, that would enhance the life quality of elders. An alternative methodology of Active ageing index scores interpreting is presented in the thesis to support the second goal. The author considers Active ageing index to be an adequate tool for active ageing evaluation, however it does not provide sufficient information on what actions need to be taken to improve active ageing conditions. For this reason an alternative interpretation methodology is presented. The Czech Republic Active Ageing Index value is 34.4 point. It ranks the Czech Republic among slightly above average countries. Actions on volunteering, physical activity, lifelong learning and computer skills need to be taken to improve active ageing conditions. Keywords:...

The population of older persons has increased dramatically over the years in South Africa as well as internationally. As populations continue to age, the concept of active ageing has received increasing attention from researchers. Active ageing can be defined as the process of optimising older persons’ opportunities for health promotion, participation, and security in order to enhance their quality of life. In this definition, “health” refers to physical, mental, and social well-being. “Participation” refers to the optimisation of participation in activities such as employment, education, the arts, and religion, and “security” refers to ways in which the protection, dignity, and care of older persons can be maintained and improved. The distribution of older persons in South Africa by ethnic group is disproportionate with older white persons representing 21% of the total older population. Many of these white older persons reside in retirement villages resulting in their being populated by older white persons more so than by members of other ethnic groups. Retirement village policies and programmes generally incorporate an active ageing philosophy. However, most research on active ageing in retirement villages is conducted internationally, and, furthermore, it does not include the subjective experiences of older persons in these active environments. The aim of this research was therefore to explore the experiences of older residents in a retirement village with an active ageing approach. Barker’s behaviour setting theory and the continuity theory were applied in this study. The behaviour setting theory holds that the environment (retirement village) in which people function is important when explaining human behaviour and exploring the subjective experiences of older persons. The continuity theory rests on the premise that ageing is not a static process but rather an ongoing process and that continuity is a primary strategy used by people to deal with changes associated with ageing. According to this theory, people endeavour to continue with the psychological and social patterns they developed and adopted during their lifetimes. The study was conducted at a retirement village in Boksburg, Johannesburg (Gauteng, South Africa), that follows an active ageing approach, making it an ideal context for exploring the subjective experiences of older persons in an active ageing environment. The retirement village has a dedicated life style consultant who has developed specific programmes for every day of the week with time slots allocated for different activities in which older persons can participate. The programmes exclude frail people in the facility who cannot participate owing to their physical limitations. The director of the organisation that is responsible for many retirement villages, and this one in particular, contacted the researchers and asked them to explore the residents’ quality of life experiences so that the services provided to them could be adjusted if necessary. Ethical approval for the research was obtained from the Health Research Ethics Committee of the North-West University. The manager of the retirement village was also asked to distribute posters indicating the nature of the research. On the day of the data gathering, the participants were told about the research and that they would be required, if they wished to participate, to engage in individual interviews with the researchers and take part in the Mmogo-method®, a projective visual research method (Roos, 2008, 2012). The residents who agreed to participate gave their informed consent and confirmed that their participation was voluntary and they had been made aware that they could withdraw from the study at any time. Twenty participants were recruited for the study of whom 16 were women and four were men. The ages ranged between 65 and 80 years with an average age of 73. Two of the participants were English speaking, and the remainder were Afrikaans speaking. They were given the Mmogo-method® materials, which consisted of clay, straws, and colourful beads, and were invited to make visual representations of their lives and activities at the retirement village. The research request was, “Build something that describes your life here at the retirement village”. When all the participants had completed their visual representations, the representations were photographed and served as visual data. The researcher then asked each participant what he or she each had made and why he or she had made it. An informal group discussion was subsequently held with the 18 participants who had taken part in the Mmogo-method®. Individual in-depth interviews with two participants were conducted after the Mmogo-method® had been carried out. All the discussions were audiotaped and served as textual data. The visual data were analysed by getting the literal meanings of the visual representations from the participants in relation to the specific research request. The textual data were analysed thematically, which involved identifying, analysing, and reporting patterns or themes in the data. Different techniques, including crystallisation and member checking, were applied to ensure the trustworthiness of the research process and findings. The findings revealed that the participants were actively involved in a variety of activities on a daily basis. The activities included physical activities organised by the life style consultant or self-initiated activities such as playing tennis, doing line-dancing, going for brisk walks, working out in the gymnasium, and engaging in recreational activities such as fishing, reading, and scrapbooking. The objectives of these activities were to maintain joint flexibility, general health, and mental fitness. Some of the older residents had formalised roles in the retirement village, which they had previous experience of. The participants also took part in different social activities such as paying social visits and making friends. The spiritual activities of the participants were solitary as well as communal. The participants thus experienced the retirement village as a very busy environment with full schedules. In such an environment, people often engage in activities to distract themselves from dealing with difficult circumstances in their lives. Barker’s settings theory holds that older residents’ physical presence in an active environment influences their levels of activity and their subjective experiences. For some residents, an active environment fits into the continuation of the active life styles they developed during the course of their lives, but for others it may have implications for their psychological well-being if they do not have self-regulatory skills to navigate themselves and act merely on feeling obligated to do something. Using an active environment to deal with difficult circumstances can be either a constructive or a destructive coping strategy for older persons. The individual needs of residents should always be taken into account, and retirement villages with an active ageing approach should be aware that one size does not fit all. This study aimed to draw the attention of retirement village managers to the need to take cognisance of the experiences of older persons when implementing ageing policies in their facilities. It also shed new light on the experiences of active ageing among older residents. / MA (Clinical Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

The population of older persons has increased dramatically over the years in South Africa as well as internationally. As populations continue to age, the concept of active ageing has received increasing attention from researchers. Active ageing can be defined as the process of optimising older persons’ opportunities for health promotion, participation, and security in order to enhance their quality of life. In this definition, “health” refers to physical, mental, and social well-being. “Participation” refers to the optimisation of participation in activities such as employment, education, the arts, and religion, and “security” refers to ways in which the protection, dignity, and care of older persons can be maintained and improved. The distribution of older persons in South Africa by ethnic group is disproportionate with older white persons representing 21% of the total older population. Many of these white older persons reside in retirement villages resulting in their being populated by older white persons more so than by members of other ethnic groups. Retirement village policies and programmes generally incorporate an active ageing philosophy. However, most research on active ageing in retirement villages is conducted internationally, and, furthermore, it does not include the subjective experiences of older persons in these active environments. The aim of this research was therefore to explore the experiences of older residents in a retirement village with an active ageing approach. Barker’s behaviour setting theory and the continuity theory were applied in this study. The behaviour setting theory holds that the environment (retirement village) in which people function is important when explaining human behaviour and exploring the subjective experiences of older persons. The continuity theory rests on the premise that ageing is not a static process but rather an ongoing process and that continuity is a primary strategy used by people to deal with changes associated with ageing. According to this theory, people endeavour to continue with the psychological and social patterns they developed and adopted during their lifetimes. The study was conducted at a retirement village in Boksburg, Johannesburg (Gauteng, South Africa), that follows an active ageing approach, making it an ideal context for exploring the subjective experiences of older persons in an active ageing environment. The retirement village has a dedicated life style consultant who has developed specific programmes for every day of the week with time slots allocated for different activities in which older persons can participate. The programmes exclude frail people in the facility who cannot participate owing to their physical limitations. The director of the organisation that is responsible for many retirement villages, and this one in particular, contacted the researchers and asked them to explore the residents’ quality of life experiences so that the services provided to them could be adjusted if necessary. Ethical approval for the research was obtained from the Health Research Ethics Committee of the North-West University. The manager of the retirement village was also asked to distribute posters indicating the nature of the research. On the day of the data gathering, the participants were told about the research and that they would be required, if they wished to participate, to engage in individual interviews with the researchers and take part in the Mmogo-method®, a projective visual research method (Roos, 2008, 2012). The residents who agreed to participate gave their informed consent and confirmed that their participation was voluntary and they had been made aware that they could withdraw from the study at any time. Twenty participants were recruited for the study of whom 16 were women and four were men. The ages ranged between 65 and 80 years with an average age of 73. Two of the participants were English speaking, and the remainder were Afrikaans speaking. They were given the Mmogo-method® materials, which consisted of clay, straws, and colourful beads, and were invited to make visual representations of their lives and activities at the retirement village. The research request was, “Build something that describes your life here at the retirement village”. When all the participants had completed their visual representations, the representations were photographed and served as visual data. The researcher then asked each participant what he or she each had made and why he or she had made it. An informal group discussion was subsequently held with the 18 participants who had taken part in the Mmogo-method®. Individual in-depth interviews with two participants were conducted after the Mmogo-method® had been carried out. All the discussions were audiotaped and served as textual data. The visual data were analysed by getting the literal meanings of the visual representations from the participants in relation to the specific research request. The textual data were analysed thematically, which involved identifying, analysing, and reporting patterns or themes in the data. Different techniques, including crystallisation and member checking, were applied to ensure the trustworthiness of the research process and findings. The findings revealed that the participants were actively involved in a variety of activities on a daily basis. The activities included physical activities organised by the life style consultant or self-initiated activities such as playing tennis, doing line-dancing, going for brisk walks, working out in the gymnasium, and engaging in recreational activities such as fishing, reading, and scrapbooking. The objectives of these activities were to maintain joint flexibility, general health, and mental fitness. Some of the older residents had formalised roles in the retirement village, which they had previous experience of. The participants also took part in different social activities such as paying social visits and making friends. The spiritual activities of the participants were solitary as well as communal. The participants thus experienced the retirement village as a very busy environment with full schedules. In such an environment, people often engage in activities to distract themselves from dealing with difficult circumstances in their lives. Barker’s settings theory holds that older residents’ physical presence in an active environment influences their levels of activity and their subjective experiences. For some residents, an active environment fits into the continuation of the active life styles they developed during the course of their lives, but for others it may have implications for their psychological well-being if they do not have self-regulatory skills to navigate themselves and act merely on feeling obligated to do something. Using an active environment to deal with difficult circumstances can be either a constructive or a destructive coping strategy for older persons. The individual needs of residents should always be taken into account, and retirement villages with an active ageing approach should be aware that one size does not fit all. This study aimed to draw the attention of retirement village managers to the need to take cognisance of the experiences of older persons when implementing ageing policies in their facilities. It also shed new light on the experiences of active ageing among older residents. / MA (Clinical Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

`Active Ageing' has been promoted by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a strategy for promoting the health and well-being of older people. Keeping active and involved in a range of activities not restricted to those associated with labour market participation may, it has been suggested, be beneficial for older people. In this research three domains of `engagement' were considered: paid work, formal involvement (i. e. activities such as voluntary work, attendance at training courses and participation in political organisations) and informal involvement (i. e. activities such as providing care and help to family, and looking after grandchildren). Using the first two waves of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) and the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), this thesis investigated both the cross-sectional association between socio-economic, demographic and health-related variables and engagement at baseline, and the longitudinal association between engagement at baseline and self-rated health (SRH) and depressive symptoms at follow-up (controlling for baseline measures of health). The analysis was based on sample members aged 50- 69 at baseline in Denmark, France, Italy and England, countries selected to represent different welfare regimes. Cross-sectional findings showed that levels of engagement in paid work and formal activities varied across countries, whereas socio-economic, demographic and healthrelated characteristics were similarly associated with engagement in all countries under study. This suggested that country-specific factors, such as retirement policies, might play an important role in determining older people's level of engagement in paid work. Cross-sectional results also suggested that work and formal engagement were associated with good health, whereas -among certain subpopulations -informal activities were associated with bad health. Longitudinal analyses showed that, in all countries, respondents in paid work at baseline were more likely to improve their SRH and less likely to become depressed than those who were `inactive'. Formal and informal engagement were not significantly associated with health at follow-up. Longitudinal results and associations found, however, might have been biased by the high rates of attrition, as multiple imputation techniques and sensitivity analyses suggested. The current research study confirms that engagement in work is an important pathway to health in late life. More attention, however, should be paid to people's working lives, the quality of work and work conditions as these may influence participation in, and withdrawal from, the labour market.

Submitted by Silvana Teresinha Dornelles Studzinski (sstudzinski) on 2015-10-19T17:31:48Z No. of bitstreams: 1 PATRÍCIA PASSOS DE AZAMBUJA_.pdf: 748348 bytes, checksum: 14809e49a49b04e43698a489f06941bb (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-10-19T17:31:48Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 PATRÍCIA PASSOS DE AZAMBUJA_.pdf: 748348 bytes, checksum: 14809e49a49b04e43698a489f06941bb (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-07-01 / Nenhuma / Na área da saúde observam-se avanços nas políticas públicas e institucionais a partir da Segunda Assembléia Mundial das Nações Unidas sobre o Envelhecimento, realizada em 2002 em Madri. Na última década a sociedade brasileira tem caminhado na busca de reconhecimento de seu direito de cidadania. Contudo no caso da velhice, precisamos avançar ainda mais, garantindo a todos os idosos a defesa e proteção de seus direitos. Ações implantadas para o cuidado do idoso precisam ser mais organizadas, menos fragmentadas e com maior comprometimento de todos os atores envolvidos. O momento da alta hospitalar representa, para muitos idosos e para seus familiares, uma situação de apreensão e questionamentos. Dentro deste contexto este estudo teve como objetivo propor um plano de ação na alta hospitalar com vistas ao envelhecimento ativo. A pesquisa utilizou a abordagem qualitativa, com delineamento de pesquisa social em saúde. Para coleta dos dados foram realizadas entrevistas semi-estruturadas. Os participantes convidados a participar do estudo foram idosos internados na unidade de internação onde se desenvolveu o estudo, seus familiares e ou cuidadores, e também os profissionais enfermeiros que exercem suas atividades neste local. Após a análise crítica, os resultados apontaram: o conhecimento dos envolvidos a respeito das políticas públicas existentes direcionadas ao idoso; uma estrutura de orientação para a alta hospitalar com perfil médico centrado; a importância do comprometimento do cuidador familiar ou não; e a necessidade do fortalecimento e qualificação da participação do profissional enfermeiro no planejamento da alta hospitalar junto à equipe interprofissional. O resultou do estudo apontou para a necessidade da criação de um plano de ação no planejamento da alta hospitalar com vistas ao envelhecimento ativo, com o intuito de qualificar a assistência prestada na unidade de internação do serviço em estudo, focalizando as necessidades específicas para o cuidado do idoso. Sugere-se a testagem do modelo de plano de ação criado para auxiliar no planejamento da alta hospitalar, com o propósito de fornecer e contribuir com uma ferramenta para profissionais de saúde, familiares, cuidadores e também para o idoso. Tal intervenção foi baseada nos princípios que valorizam a saúde, a participação e a segurança do idoso, preconizados na Política de Saúde do Envelhecimento Ativo. / In health, there has been progress in the public and institutional policies from the United Nations Second World Assembly on Ageing, held in 2002 in Madrid. In the last decade, Brazilian society has been moving in search of recognition of their right to citizenship. However in the case of old age, we need to go further, guaranteeing all seniors the defense and protection of their rights. Actions implemented for the elderly care need to be more organized, less fragmented and more commitment from all actors involved. The time of discharge is, for many seniors and their families, one of apprehension and questioning situation. Within this context, this study aimed to propose an action plan in the hospital with a view to active aging. The research used a qualitative approach with social health research design. For data collection semi-structured interviews were conducted. Participants invited to participate in the study were elderly patients in the inpatient unit where the study was developed, and their families or caregivers, as well as professional nurses who pursue their activities on this site. After a critical analysis of the results, it showed that: the knowledge of those involved regarding existing policies directed to the elderly; a guiding structure for the hospital with medical centered profile; the importance of the commitment of the family caregiver or not; and the need to strengthen and for qualification of the professional nurse participation in hospital discharge planning by the multidisciplinary team. The result of the study pointed to the need to create an action plan on hospital discharge planning with a view to active aging, in order to qualify for assistance provided in the service inpatient unit under study, focusing on the specific needs for care the elderly. We suggest testing the action plan template created to assist in discharge planning, in order to provide and contribute a tool for health professionals, family members, caregivers and also for the elderly. Such intervention was based on principles that value the health, participation and security of the elderly, recommended in the Active Ageing Health Policy.

The paper studies class inequalities in health over the ageing process in a comparative perspective. It investigates if health inequalities among the elderly vary between European welfare state regimes, and if this variation is age-dependent. Previous comparative research on health inequalities have largely failed to take age and ageing into account, and have not investigated whether cross-country variation in health inequalities might differ for different age categories. Since the elderly belong to the demographic category most dependent on welfare policies, an ageing perspective is warranted. The study combines fives data rounds (2002 to 2010) from the European Social Survey. Multilevel techniques are used, and the analysis is stratified by age, comparing the 50-64 year olds with those aged 65-80 years. Health is measured by self-assessed general health and disability status. Two results stand out. First, class differences in health are strongly reduced or vanish completely for the 65-80 year olds in the Social democratic welfare states, while they remain stable or are in some cases even intensified in almost all other welfare states. Second, the cross-country variation in health inequalities is much larger for the oldest (aged 65-80 years) than is the case for the 50-64 year olds. It is concluded that welfare policies seem to influence the magnitude of health inequalities, and that the importance of welfare state context is greater for the elderly, who are more fragile and more reliant on welfare policies such as public pensions and elderly care.

Com o aumento da população idosa nas últimas décadas e a popularização dos serviços de saúde em domicílio (homecare), observou-se a necessidade de criação de tecnologias que facilitassem o acesso destes serviços para usuários idosos. Segundo a Organização Mundial da Saúde (OMS), boa parte dos cuidados que os indivíduos necessitam pode ser proporcionada por eles mesmos, ou seja, seu envolvimento e sua educação no processo de tomada de decisão resulta em melhora das condições de saúde e aumento da sua qualidade de vida. Com base nisso, este estudo tem por objetivo investigar como um sistema de gerenciamento em saúde pode ser utilizado para promover algumas mudanças de hábitos do idoso quanto aos cuidados com sua saúde e visa responder que mudanças de comportamento relativas à qualidade de vida podem ser promovidas por uma tecnologia desse tipo. Para tanto, serão apresentadas informações relacionadas às doenças crônicas, principalmente no que dizem respeito à hipertensão arterial, diabetes mellitus e obesidade. Além disso, serão abordados aspectos relacionados aos tipos de velhice, perfil epidemiológico do idoso no mundo contemporâneo, direito dos idosos, o “ser idoso” na sociedade e a educação dos idosos. Importante salientar que a fundamentação teórica baseou-se em autores como Jacques Delors, Jack Mezirow, Vitoria Kachar e Paulo Freire, entre outros. Para realizar esta pesquisa, foi desenvolvido e utilizado um sistema de gerenciamento e educação denominado i-Care, sendo que a abordagem de pesquisa utilizada foi quali-quantitativa. A amostra, por conveniência, incluiu 5 idosos com idades entre 60 e 85 anos que obtiveram resultados satisfatórios tanto em relação aos aspectos mais subjetivos, bem como aos parâmetros funcionais de idosos portadores de doença crônica. / With the increase of elderly population in the last decades and the popularization of homecare health services, new technologies were created to increase the use of these services for elderly people. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), much of the care that individuals need can be provided by themselves, i.e., their involvement and conscientiousness in the decision-making process results in improvement in health and increase in quality of life. Based on that, this study aims to investigate how a health management system can be used to promote some habit changes in elderly regarding their health and aims to answer which behavior changes related to the quality of life can be promoted by such technology. In order to accomplish that, we present some information related to chronic diseases, especially hypertension, diabetes mellitus and obesity. Besides, we address aspects related to elderly types, profiles of elderly epidemiology worldwide, elderly rights, the "elderly being" in society and the elderly education. Important to note that the theoretical foundation was based on authors such as Jacques Delors, Jack Mezirow, Vitoria Kachar and Paulo Freire, among others. To conduct this research, we developed and used a health monitoring and education system called i-Care. The research approach was qualitative and quantitative. The sample, chosen by convenience, included five seniors aged 60 to 85 years who achieved satisfactory results both in relation to the subjective aspects of the research as well as the objective parameters monitored in the patients.

A população em todo o mundo vem envelhecendo rapidamente, fato que desafia a sociedade a pensar estratégias atraentes de orientação para a manutenção da qualidade de vida dos idosos. Por outro lado, há uma expansão e popularização nas tecnologias disponíveis no mercado como computadores, tablets, smartphones, smart TVs, etc., ou seja, diferentes dispositivos exibidores de conteúdo Web. Neste contexto, a aplicação Envelhecimento Ativo TV (EATV) oferece recursos para que os idosos assumam o controle na manutenção de sua qualidade de vida durante o envelhecimento, e está baseada nos relatórios sobre o envelhecimento ativo da OMS, na gerontologia educacional e nas orientações para a construção de aplicações para o idoso. Seu conteúdo consiste de informações sobre o envelhecimento ativo e saudável, para isso são empregados vídeos informativos sobre os determinantes comportamentais propostos pela OMS. São também fornecidas informações sobre acesso a grupos de convivência e a páginas de interesse da terceira idade. A EATV foi validada utilizando uma abordagem quali-quantitativa em uma amostra constituída de 12 sujeitos idosos durante um período de quatro meses. Durante a coleta de dados, foram utilizados questionários reconhecidos em suas respectivas áreas disponibilizados na EATV, as ferramentas Diário de Bordo, Fórum, ambos do AVA ROODA e entrevistas individuais semipadronizadas. A EATV está em consonância com a educação em saúde, pois apoia combinações de experiências de aprendizagem que facilitem (predisponham, possibilitem e reforcem) medidas comportamentais adotadas por uma pessoa, grupo ou comunidade para alcançar um efeito benéfico e intencional sobre a própria saúde. Assim, como contribuição, pode-se citar o desenvolvimento de uma aplicação planejada para o contexto da t-learning (EATV) e um curso (Qualidade de Vida) que a utilizou para promover o envelhecimento ativo e incentivar os comportamentos saudáveis sugeridos para um envelhecer mantendo a qualidade de vida. / The population all around the world is growing old quickly, a fact which challenges society to think attractive strategies to guide seniors to the quality of life. On the other hand there is an expansion and popularization of technologies available on market like computers, tablets, smart phones, smart televisions, etc., which means, different devices that exhibit Web content. In this context, the application Active Aging TV (EATV) offers resources for seniors to take control in maintaining their quality of life during aging process, and it is based on reports about active aging by WHO, and in the educational gerontology and in the guidelines for designing applications to the elderly. Its content consists of information on active and healthy aging, for this purpose, informative videos are employed based on the behavioral determinants proposed by WHO. EATV also provides access to information about support groups, and pages of interest to seniors. EATV was validated using a qualitative and quantitative approach in a sample of 12 elderly subjects over a period of four months. During the data collection we used questionnaires recognized in their respective fields and they were available in EATV; both Journal and Forum tools of Brazilian LMS ROODA, and individual semi structured interviews. EATV is in line with health education, which supports combinations of learning experiences that facilitate (predispose, enable and reinforce) behavioral measures taken by a person, group or community to achieve a purposeful and beneficial effect on their own health. Thus, as a contribution, we can mention the development of an application planned for the context of t-learning (EATV) and a course (Quality of Life) who used it to promote active aging and encouraging healthy behaviors suggested to grow old maintaining the quality of life.

Com o aumento da população idosa nas últimas décadas e a popularização dos serviços de saúde em domicílio (homecare), observou-se a necessidade de criação de tecnologias que facilitassem o acesso destes serviços para usuários idosos. Segundo a Organização Mundial da Saúde (OMS), boa parte dos cuidados que os indivíduos necessitam pode ser proporcionada por eles mesmos, ou seja, seu envolvimento e sua educação no processo de tomada de decisão resulta em melhora das condições de saúde e aumento da sua qualidade de vida. Com base nisso, este estudo tem por objetivo investigar como um sistema de gerenciamento em saúde pode ser utilizado para promover algumas mudanças de hábitos do idoso quanto aos cuidados com sua saúde e visa responder que mudanças de comportamento relativas à qualidade de vida podem ser promovidas por uma tecnologia desse tipo. Para tanto, serão apresentadas informações relacionadas às doenças crônicas, principalmente no que dizem respeito à hipertensão arterial, diabetes mellitus e obesidade. Além disso, serão abordados aspectos relacionados aos tipos de velhice, perfil epidemiológico do idoso no mundo contemporâneo, direito dos idosos, o “ser idoso” na sociedade e a educação dos idosos. Importante salientar que a fundamentação teórica baseou-se em autores como Jacques Delors, Jack Mezirow, Vitoria Kachar e Paulo Freire, entre outros. Para realizar esta pesquisa, foi desenvolvido e utilizado um sistema de gerenciamento e educação denominado i-Care, sendo que a abordagem de pesquisa utilizada foi quali-quantitativa. A amostra, por conveniência, incluiu 5 idosos com idades entre 60 e 85 anos que obtiveram resultados satisfatórios tanto em relação aos aspectos mais subjetivos, bem como aos parâmetros funcionais de idosos portadores de doença crônica. / With the increase of elderly population in the last decades and the popularization of homecare health services, new technologies were created to increase the use of these services for elderly people. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), much of the care that individuals need can be provided by themselves, i.e., their involvement and conscientiousness in the decision-making process results in improvement in health and increase in quality of life. Based on that, this study aims to investigate how a health management system can be used to promote some habit changes in elderly regarding their health and aims to answer which behavior changes related to the quality of life can be promoted by such technology. In order to accomplish that, we present some information related to chronic diseases, especially hypertension, diabetes mellitus and obesity. Besides, we address aspects related to elderly types, profiles of elderly epidemiology worldwide, elderly rights, the "elderly being" in society and the elderly education. Important to note that the theoretical foundation was based on authors such as Jacques Delors, Jack Mezirow, Vitoria Kachar and Paulo Freire, among others. To conduct this research, we developed and used a health monitoring and education system called i-Care. The research approach was qualitative and quantitative. The sample, chosen by convenience, included five seniors aged 60 to 85 years who achieved satisfactory results both in relation to the subjective aspects of the research as well as the objective parameters monitored in the patients.