Social representations of health and care for elderly men and women

Abstract

This study aimed to identify the social representations of health and healthcare for elderly men and women. There were 40 participants: twenty women and twenty men, aged over 60 years, that performed the Test of Free Association of Words and a semi-structured interview. Social representations of health and healthcare for women permeated three meaning cores: poor health conditioned to medical care; regular health as the effect of discipline and healthy habits; and health self-care, as oriented by professionals. Thus, health is something that should be monitored by professionals, as well as selfcare, generally oriented and prescribed in their appointments. As for the men, they represented the words around two cores: health requires self-care and health is reached through activities. Thus, it is clear that in their assessment health requires some care, especially food and exercise, although they did not feel in need of extra care. We conclude that the social representations of health and healthcare differ between groups, demonstrating gender issues and highlighting the urgency in improving educational actions aimed at health promotion, with strategies that minimize the impact of curative actions.