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The purpose of this study was to identify factors that predict quality of life (QOL) for aging adults and to examine and compare Baby Boomers', Older Adults' and Younger Adults' responses to the 2010 National Health Interview Survey/QOL Functioning and Disability. Significant findings included several significant values based on the multivariate regression to estimate a model to predict QOL. In particular, being male, four ethnicities other than white, being older than Boomer, age in 10 years, the Functional Difficulty Index, the Functional Limitation Index scores, chronic heart disease, asthma, and arthritis all had significant p values. Adults with chronic heart disease, asthma, or arthritis scored lower on the QOL index, but cancer, stroke, or diabetes were not associated with the QOL index. Two hypotheses had strong support. Lower scores on both the Functional Difficulty Index and the Functional Limitation Index yielded lower QOL scores. Further research recommendations include establishing reliability and validity of the QOL index; running additional regressions for demographics (ethnicity, marital status, etc.) to predict possible combinations of variables predicting QOL or barriers to QOL; and investigating the viability of incorporating the QOL index into an electronic medical record (EMR) dashboard parameter to serve as a screening mechanism for those aging adults most at risk for chronicities or co-morbidities that place them at risk for losing their ability to age in place in the home of their choosing.

Title: Physical and leisure activities for seniors in Prague 6 Objectives: The aim of the master thesis is mapping programs in leisure and outdoor exercise options for seniors in Prague 6 and then suggest their improvements. Methods: Case study, personal interview, content analysis, analysis of primary and secondary data. Results: Analysis of physical and leisure activities for seniors in Prague 6 showed the wide range of programs for seniors. Barrier and motivation of older people in the use of this offer has been especially their health. Based on the information were designed measures for the city of Prague 6. Key words: seniors, active aging, municipal office, public sport grounds, Prague 6

Annotation: In this diploma thesis I present different forms of socialization of older adults and I also describe ways of patient activation, especially concerning their availability and importance. The theoretical part discusses old age and its general characteristics also mentioning demographical changes and consequences of population ageing. In this part I deal with whole life education and activation of older adults as well. Quantitative questionnaire in the practical part is focused on leisure of the older adults living in Prague and also on the offer of activities accessible by elderly people in general. I analyse the attitude of older adults towards this offer and their evaluation of specific activities. Finally, I found several motivating factors of active attitude towards ageing and, on the other hand, I reveal some of those determining passivity and disengagement of senior citizens.

Este trabalho analisa, a partir de abordagem qualitativa e perspectiva interdisciplinar, os sentidos atribuídos ao envelhecimento e à velhice por mulheres pertencentes às camadas médias populacionais, moradoras da Região Metropolitana de São Paulo. São discutidos esses sentidos e suas proximidades e distanciamentos em relação aos discursos hegemônicos, sobretudo àqueles associados ao \"envelhecimento ativo\", nos quais envelhecer aparece como algo que pode ser adiado através da adoção de determinados cuidados que visam à administração de corpos e identidades. Foram realizadas entrevistas em profundidade, individuais e semiestruturadas com dez mulheres que possuíam entre 50 e 71 anos. A discussão está organizada em quatro eixos: as percepções acerca da velhice e do processo de envelhecimento, as transformações corporais relacionadas a esses fenômenos, as especificidades do envelhecimento feminino e a relação entre menopausa e envelhecimento. As narrativas das mulheres entrevistadas apresentam dois grandes grupos de sentidos que coexistem e se interseccionam: a \"bela velhice\" e as \"velhinhas de bengala\". Os discursos hegemônicos apontam para a responsabilização dos indivíduos acerca de sua saúde e a moralização daqueles que não seguem o estilo de vida considerado adequado. Tais discursos, juntamente a determinadas mudanças socio-históricas nas construções de gênero, possibilitam uma vivência do envelhecimento perpassada pela atividade, autonomia e independência. No entanto, ao mesmo tempo em que trazem benefícios e revisam estereótipos negativos, constroem normas que implicam na abjeção e apagamento de outras experiências. Pretendese, então, contribuir para a análise do envelhecimento feminino, refletindo sobre a interlocução entre discursos, práticas sociais e subjetividades, evidenciando também os modos através dos quais as mulheres estão vivenciando esse fenômeno na contemporaneidade / The present study analyses from a qualitative approach and an interdisciplinary perspective, the meanings attributed to aging and old age by middle class women living in the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo. The discussion approaches those meanings and their proximities or distances with hegemonic discourses, especially those associated with active aging, in which aging appears as something that can be postponed by adopting certain cautions that aim to manage bodies and identities. In-depth, individual and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 women aged between 50 and 71 years. For the analysis, four points were considered: perceptions about ageing and the ageing process, the corporal transformations related to these phenomena, the specificities of female ageing and the relationship between menopause and ageing. The narratives of the interviewed women presented two large groups of meanings that coexisted and intersected: the \"beautiful aging\" and the \"old lady with a cane\". The hegemonic discourses point out to the accountability of individuals about their health and the moralization of those who cant do not follow the life style thats considered adequate. Those discourses, adjacent to some social historical chances on the constructions of gender, made it possible for the interviewed women to experience an ageing process that was permeated by values associated with activity, autonomy and independence. Even though these discourses might bring benefits, revise stereotypes and provide old age with positive meanings, they might also build norms and dictate rules of conduct. The latter implies social exclusion and erasure of other experiences that deviate from the norm. This study intended to contribute to the analysis of female ageing, by reflecting on the inter-locution between discourses and social practices and individuals, as well by highlighting the ways in which women experience this phenomenon

Este trabalho analisa, a partir de abordagem qualitativa e perspectiva interdisciplinar, os sentidos atribuídos ao envelhecimento e à velhice por mulheres pertencentes às camadas médias populacionais, moradoras da Região Metropolitana de São Paulo. São discutidos esses sentidos e suas proximidades e distanciamentos em relação aos discursos hegemônicos, sobretudo àqueles associados ao \"envelhecimento ativo\", nos quais envelhecer aparece como algo que pode ser adiado através da adoção de determinados cuidados que visam à administração de corpos e identidades. Foram realizadas entrevistas em profundidade, individuais e semiestruturadas com dez mulheres que possuíam entre 50 e 71 anos. A discussão está organizada em quatro eixos: as percepções acerca da velhice e do processo de envelhecimento, as transformações corporais relacionadas a esses fenômenos, as especificidades do envelhecimento feminino e a relação entre menopausa e envelhecimento. As narrativas das mulheres entrevistadas apresentam dois grandes grupos de sentidos que coexistem e se interseccionam: a \"bela velhice\" e as \"velhinhas de bengala\". Os discursos hegemônicos apontam para a responsabilização dos indivíduos acerca de sua saúde e a moralização daqueles que não seguem o estilo de vida considerado adequado. Tais discursos, juntamente a determinadas mudanças socio-históricas nas construções de gênero, possibilitam uma vivência do envelhecimento perpassada pela atividade, autonomia e independência. No entanto, ao mesmo tempo em que trazem benefícios e revisam estereótipos negativos, constroem normas que implicam na abjeção e apagamento de outras experiências. Pretendese, então, contribuir para a análise do envelhecimento feminino, refletindo sobre a interlocução entre discursos, práticas sociais e subjetividades, evidenciando também os modos através dos quais as mulheres estão vivenciando esse fenômeno na contemporaneidade / The present study analyses from a qualitative approach and an interdisciplinary perspective, the meanings attributed to aging and old age by middle class women living in the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo. The discussion approaches those meanings and their proximities or distances with hegemonic discourses, especially those associated with active aging, in which aging appears as something that can be postponed by adopting certain cautions that aim to manage bodies and identities. In-depth, individual and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 women aged between 50 and 71 years. For the analysis, four points were considered: perceptions about ageing and the ageing process, the corporal transformations related to these phenomena, the specificities of female ageing and the relationship between menopause and ageing. The narratives of the interviewed women presented two large groups of meanings that coexisted and intersected: the \"beautiful aging\" and the \"old lady with a cane\". The hegemonic discourses point out to the accountability of individuals about their health and the moralization of those who cant do not follow the life style thats considered adequate. Those discourses, adjacent to some social historical chances on the constructions of gender, made it possible for the interviewed women to experience an ageing process that was permeated by values associated with activity, autonomy and independence. Even though these discourses might bring benefits, revise stereotypes and provide old age with positive meanings, they might also build norms and dictate rules of conduct. The latter implies social exclusion and erasure of other experiences that deviate from the norm. This study intended to contribute to the analysis of female ageing, by reflecting on the inter-locution between discourses and social practices and individuals, as well by highlighting the ways in which women experience this phenomenon

Syfte: Var att beskriva arbetsterapeuters erfarenheter av att identifiera samt främja meningsfulla aktiviteter hos personer som är 80 år och äldre, samt har hemsjukvård. Metod: Författarna valde en kvalitativ ansats för att beskriva arbetsterapeuternas subjektiva upplevelser. Åtta semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes och analyserades sedan utifrån kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultat: Data resulterade i tre kategorier varav en med två underkategorier dessa var: Identifiering av individuella behov för meningsfulla aktiviteter, Arbeta främjande mot meningsfulla aktiviteter, med underkategorierna: Problematik arbetsterapeuter möter hos de äldre samt Stöttande resurser för att bibehålla meningsfulla aktiviteter, samt kategorin Arbetsterapeuternas avsaknad av samt önskan om resurser för att arbeta mot meningsfulla aktiviteter. Slutsats: Studien visar att arbetsterapeuter inom hemsjukvården lägger fokus på att utgå ifrån patientens individuella livshistoria och att de ser en fara med generalisering vid arbetet med patienter som är 80 år och äldre. Arbetsterapeuternas erfarenhet visade även att mindre insatser samt att det sociala nätverket av anhöriga och vänner är av betydelse för att patienterna ska kunna utföra meningsfulla aktiviteter. Deltagarna i studien visade på ett stort engagemang i sitt arbete samtidigt som de uttrycker en önskan om att kunna göra mer för patienterna. / Purpose: To describe occupational therapists' experiences of identifying and promoting meaningful activities with people aged 80 years and over, with homecare. Method: The authors chose a qualitative approach to describe the subjective experiences of the occupational therapists. Eight semi- structured interviews were conducted and analyzed on the basis of qualitative content analysis. Result: The data resulted in three categories, one with two subcategories these were: Identification of individual needs for meaningful activities, Work promoting against meaningful activities with subcategories: Problems occupational therapists meet with the elderly as well as supportive resources to maintain meaningful activities,as well as the category of Occupational Therapists' lack of and the wish for resources to work towards meaningful activities. Conclusion: The study shows that occupational therapists in the field of home care focus on starting from the patient's individual life story and they see a danger with generalizing when working with patients aged 80 years and over. Occupational therapists' experiences also showed that minor efforts and the social network of relatives and friends are important for the patients to be able to carry out meaningful activities. The participants in the study showed a great commitment to their work while expressing a wish to do more for the patients.

Submitted by Maria Suzana Diniz (msuzanad@hotmail.com) on 2015-11-25T11:56:01Z No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1358727 bytes, checksum: f2e1c68de39cf1515fdad6c567e0bb62 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-11-25T11:56:01Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1358727 bytes, checksum: f2e1c68de39cf1515fdad6c567e0bb62 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-06-25 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / As a response to new demands brought about by aging both in Brazil and in the world as a whole, the scientific interest for this issue concerning the old person social, economic and psychologic well-being. The inclusion of the aging in society, rather than an aim has had to become programs and public policies cannot do without the participation of these subjects. Social Psychology has developed an outstanding role in the defense of human rights of minorities and has added to the solving of many psychosocial matters. This work has the goal of adding to the knowledge of old age and the aging process.51 active aging people were interviewed (60/92 years old) and seven young subjects (18 to 27) of the medium class of João Pessoa/PB. Data indicate the predominance in both groups of negative representations of old age and aging, rooted in ideas of illness, physical decline and losses both social and biological. Amongst the young, these representations of rejection appear under the form of unquietness as to their own process in the future. Amongst the older the denial and avoidance of the identity imposed by society to them prevailed. Many triggering factors are considered when thinking about action and upon aging and chronological age is not a unique criterium for its delimitation. There is consensus about the existence of discrimination of the old in the country: however not many admitted having been victims of prejudice. The prevailing representation is that a well off aging results of the interaction between biological, psychological and social factors; however, the social and affective bonds are prioritary amongst these, under the form and expression of loving care and attention. We consider that set of data offers important elements as guidance to multiprofessional programs aiming at the promotion of active aging subjects as valued members of society. / Como resposta às novas demandas geradas pelo envelhecimento populacional, no Brasil e no mundo, cresceram o interesse científico pela velhice e a preocupação pelo bem-estar social, econômico e psicológico do idoso. A inserção do velho na sociedade, mais do que uma meta a ser buscada, deve ser diretriz dos programas voltados para a velhice, cuja formulação não pode prescindir da participação de quem envelhece. A psicologia social tem papel importante na defesa dos direitos humanos de grupos minoritários e vem contribuindo na solução de muitas questões psicossociais. Nessa direção, desenvolveu-se o presente trabalho que objetivou conhecer a velhice, na interface entre o subjetivo e social, pelo levantamento de suas representações. Foram entrevistadas 51 idosas ativas (de 60 a 92 anos), e sete jovens (de 18 a 27 anos), de classe média e residentes em João Pessoa/PB. Os dados indicaram a predominância, nos dois grupos, de representações negativas da velhice, ancoradas em idéias de doença, declínio físico e psíquico e perdas sociais. Nas jovens, essas representações objetivaram-se em angústia frente a sua velhice futura; nas idosas, objetivaram-se em rejeição à velhice e na negação da identidade que lhes é imposta pela sociedade. Prevaleceu a representação de que múltiplos fatores atuam no envelhecimento e que a idade cronológica, por si só, não é critério para sua demarcação. Houve consenso sobre a existência de discriminação da velhice no país; entretanto poucas idosas admitiram ter sofrido preconceito. Preponderou a representação de que a velhice bem-sucedida resulta da interação entre fatores biológicos, psicológicos e sociais; todavia o suporte sócio-afetivo, objetivado pelo amor, cuidados e atenção, foi o fator prioritário. Considerou-se que, que o conjunto dos dados oferece subsídios à implantação de programas multiprofissionais de promoção do envelhecimento ativo com inclusão da pessoa idosa na sociedade.

This dissertation has as prime objective to discuss the uses of digital technology by the elderly through the data obtained by participating observation in different field locations. We shall also see how such practice relates itself with the promotion of active aging health policies. Therefore, I had as an analysis the modules I and III of the Best Age computing course, offered by the Computing Laboratory Prae/CPD (LABINFO) from UFSM and the digital social network Facebook. In the course's environment it was made possible to comprehend which questions referring to gender, generation/age group, learning time and educative process interfere directly in the learning process of the digital language by people with more than 50 years and, in consequence thereof, it is recurrent for us to see the circulation of the students between the Best Age course's modules, I have realized that the reason why the students turn to a computer course is something that goes beyond family and friends communication. To a large extend, these elderly people who I have accompanied in this one year field work, longed to become more autonomous and independent regarding the use of digital technology at the same time that they aimed to assert themselves as grandmothers and grandfathers present in the social life of their grandchildren. However, the laboratory space seems to be constituting itself, in a Santa Maria context, as one more of the elderly sociability spaces (more than a formal education space itself), that is different from others spaces downtown, mainly for being attended mainly by elderly women. The participation on social medias such as Facebook gives visibility to this group while online citizens and also makes the construction of sociability in the interior of the cyberspace possible. The fact that the number of Facebook users with more than 50 years old has grown, reveals that besides being experiencing a context of popularization of the internet in Brazil (either through the computer, but mainly through the cell phones), this is directly related with the growth of Brazilian population aging, matters widely addressed in this research. Following this way, the concept of participation, considered one of the bases for the promotion of active aging, should be rethinked in the context of the digital age. / Esta dissertação tem como objetivo principal discutir os usos das tecnologias digitais por idosos/as através dos dados obtidos pela observação participante feita em diferentes locais de pesquisa. Veremos também como tal prática se relaciona com a promoção da Política de Saúde do Envelhecimento Ativo. Para tanto, tive como foco de análise as aulas dos módulos I e III do curso de informática para Melhor Idade, ofertado pelo Laboratório de Informática Prae/CPD (LABINFO) da UFSM e a rede social digital Facebook. No ambiente do curso foi possível compreender que questões referentes ao gênero, geração/faixa etária, tempo de aprendizado e processo educativo interferem diretamente no processo de aprendizagem da linguagem digital por pessoas com mais de 50 anos e, em decorrência disso, é frequente vermos a circulação dos/as alunos/as entre os módulos do Melhor Idade. Percebi que o motivo pelo qual os/as alunos/as recorrem a um curso de informática é algo que vai além da comunicação com familiares e amigos. Em grande medida, os idosos/as que acompanhei durante a pesquisa almejavam tornarem-se mais autônomos e independentes quanto ao uso das tecnologias digitais ao mesmo tempo em que visavam afirmarem-se enquanto avôs/ós presentes na vida social de seus/suas netos/as. Contudo, o espaço do laboratório parece estar se constituindo, no contexto santa-mariense, como mais um dos locais de sociabilidades dos idosos (do que propriamente um espaço de educação formal), que se diferencia de outros ambientes do centro da cidade por ser frequentado principalmente por mulheres idosas. A participação nas mídias sociais como o Facebook dá visibilidade a tal grupo enquanto cidadãos online e ainda possibilita a construção de sociabilidades no interior do ciberespaço. O fato de que o número de usuários do Facebook com mais de 50 anos tem aumentado nos últimos anos, revela que além de estarmos vivenciando um contexto de popularização da Internet no Brasil (seja através do computador, mas principalmente pelo celular), isto relaciona-se com o crescimento do envelhecimento populacional brasileiro, assuntos amplamente abordados na presente investigação. Nesse sentido, o conceito de participação considerado um dos pilares para a promoção do envelhecimento ativo, deve ser repensado no contexto da era digital.

Taken as a policy framework, active aging ranks high on most supranational bodies’ agenda. The new political economy of aging portrays “active” citizenship amongst seniors as a key challenge for the years to come. Our research focuses on, first, elderly women’s everyday ‘active’ practices, their meaning and purpose, in the context of Quebec’s active aging policy framework; and second, their day-to-day practical citizenship experiences. Informed by discourse analysis and a narrative approach, the life stories of women 60 to 70 years of age allowed for the identification of a plethora of distinctive old age activity figures. More specifically, four activity figures were identified by which respondents materialize their routine active practices, namely: (1) paid work; (2) voluntary and civic engagement; (3) physical activity; and (4) caregiving. Set against Quebec’s active aging policy framework, these patterns and set of practices that underpin them are clearly in tune with government’s dominant perspectives. Respondents’ narratives also show that active aging connotes a range of ‘ordinary’ activities of daily living, accomplished within people’s private worlds and places of proximity. Despite nuances, tensions and opposition found in dominant public discourse, as well as in active aging practices, a form of counter-discourse does not emerge from respondents’ narratives. To be active is normally the antithesis of immobility and dependence. Thus, to see oneself as active in old age draws on normative, positive assumptions about old age quite difficult to refute; nevertheless, discourses also raise identity and relational issues. In this respect, social inclusion issues cut across all active aging practices described by respondents. Moreover, a range of individual aims and quests underpin activity pattern. Such quests express respondents’ subjective interactions with their social environment; including their actions’ meaning and sense of social inclusiveness in old age. A first quest relates to personal identity and social integration to the world; a second one concerns giving; a third centers on the search for authenticity; whereas the fourth one is connected to a desire for freedom. It is through the objectivising of active practices and related existential pursuits that elderly woman recognize themselves as active citizens, rooted in the community, and variously contributing to society. Accordingly, ‘active’ citizenship experiences are articulated in a dialogic manner between the dimensions of ‘doing’, ‘active’ social practices, and ‘being’ in relation to others, within a context of interdependence. A proposed typology allows for the modeling of four ‘active’ citizenship figures. Overall, despite the role played by power relations and social inequality in structuring aging experiences, in everyday life ‘old age citizenship’ appears as a relational process, embedded in a set of social relations and practices involving individuals, families and communities, whereby elderly women are able to express a sense of agency within their social world. / Le vieillissement actif, comme cadre référentiel d’action publique, domine dorénavant les agendas des instances supranationales. Cette nouvelle économie politique du vieillissement pose la citoyenneté « active » des personnes aînées comme un défi pour les prochaines décennies. Notre objet de recherche s’intéresse, d’une part, aux pratiques dites actives du quotidien de femmes âgées, au regard du référentiel québécois du vieillissement actif, ainsi qu’à leur sens et finalités dans l’avancée en âge et, d’autre part, à l’expérience de la citoyenneté « vécue », ancrée dans l’action de la vie quotidienne et les parcours du vieillir. Une analyse du discours, effectuée à partir d’une approche narrative utilisant la méthode de récits de vie auprès de femmes âgées de 60 à 70 ans, a permis d’identifier des figures d’activités de la vieillesse protéiforme ainsi que des citoyennetés « actives » plurielles. D’abord, quatre pôles d’activités ont été identifiés et permettent de cerner les pratiques par lesquelles les participantes se disent actives au quotidien : 1) le travail rémunéré; 2) la participation civique et bénévole; 3) l’activité physique; 4) les pratiques de care. Mis en résonnance avec le référentiel du vieillissement actif, tel que construit sur la scène québécoise, l’analyse discursive montre que les répondantes ont intériorisé, en grande partie, les discours normatifs sur le vieillir actif construits par l’État. Toutefois, les récits montrent que parallèlement, dans le sens commun, leur « vieillir actif » renvoie également à des activités « ordinaires » de la vie quotidienne, accomplies dans l’univers du privé et les lieux de proximité. Malgré un certain décalage, tensions et résistances décelées entre un discours publico-politique hégémonique et les expériences empiriques du vieillir actif, aucun contre-discours n’émerge globalement des récits. Être active, c’est l’antithèse de l’immobilité et de la dépendance. Se percevoir active dans le vieillissement met ainsi en scène des enjeux normatifs face à un discours positif sur l’âge, conséquemment quasi impossible à réfuter, mais soulève aussi des dimensions identitaires et relationnelles. À cet égard, des enjeux d’inclusion sociale traversent toutes les pratiques subjectives du vieillir actif décrites par les répondantes. Mais il y a plus. Différentes finalités et quêtes sous-tendent les pôles d’activités. Elles témoignent des structures subjectives de la conscience qui établissent les relations au monde, donnent un sens à l’agir quotidien et pérennisent le sentiment d’appartenance à la société. Une première quête s’exprime dans l’ancrage identitaire et l’intégration sociale à la société; une deuxième s’articule autour du don; la quête de l’authenticité en représente une troisième et le désir de liberté, une dernière. C’est ainsi, par l’entremise d’un processus d’objectivation des pratiques actives et des priorités existentielles sous-jacentes, que les femmes aînées se reconnaissent comme des citoyennes actives, enracinées dans une collectivité, apportant différentes formes de contribution sociale. Dans cet esprit, l’expérience de la citoyenneté « active » se dévoile de façon dialogique entre les dimensions du « faire », les pratiques sociales actives investies et les dimensions de l’« être » dans ses rapports aux autres, marqués par l’interdépendance. Une typologie modélise à cette fin quatre figures de citoyenneté « active ». Nonobstant les rapports sociaux en présence et les inégalités sociales qui façonnent les contextes d’action ainsi que les expériences du vieillir, dans l’empirie du quotidien, la citoyenneté sociale du vieillissement apparaît comme un processus relationnel : elle s’ancre dans une toile de relations et de pratiques, dans un continuum entre l’individu, le proche et la communauté, et permet aux femmes aînées de se poser comme actrices agissantes sur le monde pour assurer sa continuité.