Atuação dos Enfermeiros da Estratégia Saúde da Família na Promoção da Saúde dos Idosos.

Abstract

The ageing population, observed at the whole world, is providing important changes in the way of planning the old age in the society. To the elderly’s promotion of health be effective, it is essential that nurses, especially the ones of Family Health Strategy (ESF), be compromised with the whole assistance to elderly health. This study aimed to identify the action of nurses of ESF in the promotion of health of elderly in Pelotas/RS, having as basis the essential attributes of Primary health Care (APS): attention to first contact, longitudinality, integrality, coordination of attention defined in the theoretical background of Bárbara Starfield. Qualitative study, exploratory and descriptive, accomplished in 16 Family Health Unities (USF), in the countryside of the town, with 16 nurses. The research was approved by the Ethics in Research Committee of the Faculdade de Enfermagem of the Universidade Federal de Pelotas (UFPel). The USF and nurses were randomly raffled. Data collection occurred in July to August of 2013 through semi structured interviews and notes in a field journal. Data was analyzed and discussed according to the operative proposal of Minayo. The most of participants was female, married, 31 to 59 years old, graduates in UFPel and with post-graduation in ESF. The length of employment ranged between 6 to 30 years and length of employment at the same USF was between one and 11 years. The results show that the access that elderly has at USF presents problems as the degree of tolerance for unscheduled consultations and as the physical structure, which was precarious to comply the elderly who has some dependency; however, it was highlighted the effort of the most part of nurses to expand the access through the nursing welcome. It was also ascertained that the totality of nurses affirmed that they can identify the elderly of their coverage area and believe that the most of elderly recognize the USF as a regular source of attention, setting a good interpersonal relation between both. In this way, the attribute of longitudinality is present in some researched USF. At the same time, the whole care is contemplated in a superficial way, because the action of the most of nurses is focused on home visits, HiperDia group and on the nurse consultation. They don’t have a specific promotion of health program to elderly, although they are aware about the quickly population aging. The most of unities doesn’t have a specific cadaster to monitoring of the elderly. Nurses who were interviewed had more control about dependents elderly and who had non-communicable chronic diseases through home visits and HiperDia group. Other elderly who don’t fit in this situation are not periodically monitored. Is this way, the coordination of attention doesn’t embrace all elderly of the area of the USF. It is hoped that the found results encourage the public managers to actualize a specific program to health attention to elderly which help the nurses of USF to head their care to beyond the disease, prioritizing daily at work actions to health promotion.