Abstract
Analyze the perception of elderly widow women about their health situation. Descriptive and exploratory research, based on qualitative approach performed with 34 widowed women aged 60 years and over, enrolled in primary health care. It was used content analysis in its thematic analysis modality. Three thematic nuclei were obtained: "positive self-perception of health in old age", "negative understanding of health related to the diseases" and "negative repercussions of the absence of the husband in the health situation of the widows". Presence of the family, chronic diseases under control, physical limitations and absence of the partner directly influenced the responses of the elderly widows. The elderly widows perceive their health situation as relatively good and some factors are challenges to a better health situation. For the participants, widowhood means more than just the physical loss of the husband, interfering negatively in the perception of their health situation.
Highlights
The process of ageing population occurs through the constant increase of the years of life associated with the drop in fertility and mortality, and can be defined as a multifaceted process throughout the entire life course[1,2].According to official data, in Brazil, the old age population rose from 9.7% in 2004 to 14.3% in 2015, of that 8% is represented by the female contingent of more than 60 years[3], implying the feminization of old age[4,5].This greater female longevity, that is approximately eight years longer than the male sex in Brazil, is explained in several conditions, among them, the high levels of estrogen, that provide greater protection
This study was initiated after approval by the Research Ethics Committee (Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa - CEP) and linked to a research project approved by the CEP of the Universidade Federal do Piauí (UFPI)
24 (70.5%) of them declared themselves as brown skin, so that three generations family arrangement predominated, that is, 18 (52.9%) elderly widows of the study live with their sons and grandchildren
Summary
In Brazil, the old age population rose from 9.7% in 2004 to 14.3% in 2015, of that 8% is represented by the female contingent of more than 60 years[3], implying the feminization of old age[4,5]. This greater female longevity, that is approximately eight years longer than the male sex in Brazil, is explained in several conditions, among them, the high levels of estrogen, that provide greater protection. Female predominance in the aged group brings several positive and/or negative factors both for the woman and for the family, since it may be associated with a greater social risk and with the restructuring of the relational space too, because the elderly woman is an important link to the family support network[6]
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