The Sociocultural Animation Project "Active Ageing in a Retirement Home" designs Animation as an integral part the daily life of the institution and its residents. Using this approach we hope to improve quality of life for residents, promoting an environment that helps elderly people live their closing years in an active and satisfactory way. We conclude that Sociocultural Animation is a mode of intervention in all aspects of the life of the elderly, and it is a permanent stimulus for mental, physical and emotional capacities. It acts in facilitating access to a more active and creative life, improves communication in relationships with others, encouraging better preparation for life in a community and it develops personal autonomy.
Demographic paradigms are constantly in change with time. Together with the increasing lifespan that is breaking limits thought never attainable, fertility rates are declining across entire Europe. These two factors are contributing jointly to a generalized aging in populations for the most industrialized countries. Portugal is not an exception, and if in some cases fertility recuperation is starting to be observed, it seems that this recuperation is not close to happen to the Portuguese population. However, even that this fertility recuperation starts shortly, the "benefits" will not be identifiable in a short term. Additionally, the fact that Southern Europe is in economic crisis, and that Portugal was the second country from the south, after Greece, in economic collapse, resulted in a strong impact at the family context. With such low fertility and deep economic crisis, the thematic of migration adds a major concern about the population future in the country. Migration in Portugal is predicted to increase rapidly in the next years, possibly returning the country to the same patterns registered in the 1960's when Portugal was a country of massive out-migration. This reality results in very deep problems to entire populations and let politicians and demographers interested in answering questions like: Will be the country economically sustainable in the future? Is Portugal going to decline total population?, or, How these changes will influence the households structures in the future? Population projections significance is recognized all around the world, being used by different governments with the intention to suppress the necessity of having more information about the diverse demographic issues, and Portugal is not an exception. Trying to answer to the advanced questions, we intend to elaborate a cohort component projection, for a medium term period (next 20 years), that will allow us to identify the Portuguese population structure in the future and, at the same time, evaluate the possible changes that the country will have to face. Here, we assume that: mortality improvement will 1 not be interrupted, estimating future patterns applying the Lee-Carter methodology to forecast future mortality and life expectancy; fertility decline and postponement will increase; and finally migration will be characterized by a massive out-migration. Another purpose of this study, is also to break down these projections, using the headship rate method proposed by the United Nations in 1973 and the model improvements proposed by Ediev in 2007, to estimate the future composition of households in Portugal, by age, sex and civil status. In this way, it is also our aim to provide with our results a possible and important basis of decision for policy makers in what concerns not only to the population structure itself, that is growing older, but also in order to identify (and how to provide) health care demands. The authors made use of to the Human Mortality Database (www.mortality.org), Human Fertility Database (www.humanfertility.org) and the Statistics Portugal (www.ine.pt) as data sources.
Population projections significance is recognized all around the world, being used by different governments with the intention to suppress the necessity of having more information about the diverse demographic issues, and Portugal is not an exception. Additionally, the fact that Southern Europe is in economic crisis and that Portugal was the second country from the south, after Greece, in economic collapse, resulted in a strong impact not only in the family context, but also its sustainability itself. Trying to answer questions like: Will be the country economically sustainable in the future? Is Portugal going to decline total population?, or, How these changes will influence the households structures in the future?, we intend to elaborate a cohort component projection, for a medium term period (next 20 years), that will allow us to identify the Portuguese population structure in the future and, at the same time, evaluate the possible changes that the country will have to face.
Nas últimas duas décadas, o envelhecimento ativo adquiriu expressão relevante enquanto paradigma de políticas públicas para fazer face aos desafios colocados pelo envelhecimento demográfico. Definido, primeiramente pela Organização Mundial da Saúde (OMS), de forma a enfatizar a responsabilidade da sociedade no seu conjunto relativamente à qualidade de vida ao longo do processo de envelhecimento, o paradigma do envelhecimento ativo, atualmente, tem vindo a concentrar-se, sobretudo, no adiamento da idade da reforma e na redução dos custos com a saúde nos últimos anos de vida, a partir de uma lógica de responsabilização individual. Para a elaboração deste artigo, foram consultados vários sítios on-line de clínicas médicas portuguesas nas quais se praticam consultas/tratamentos de medicina antienvelhecimento, analisando os anúncios publicitários dos serviços prestados, bem como artigos de opinião redigidos pelos próprios médicos dessa especialidade, dirigidos a um público leigo. Conclui-se que, a par da responsabilização individual pela saúde e, de forma mais geral, pela forma como se envelhece, assistimos hoje à expansão de um amplo mercado de produtos e serviços antienvelhecimento que nos permitem argumentar que o ideal de envelhecimento ativo poderá estar ao serviço de uma indústria da perfeição. ; In the last two decades, Active Ageing acquired significant importance in scientific and political forums as a new paradigm of public policies to meet challenges posed by the ageing population. Defined by the WHO as to emphasize society's responsibility regarding quality of life as people age, the Active Ageing paradigm represents, nowadays, a progressive narrowing of action scope and accountability. In recent years, assuming the logic of individual accountability, it serves as basis for the accusation of individual negligence in not adopting a healthy lifestyle. This study analyses the websites of several Portuguese medical clinics specialized in anti-ageing medicine, where one can find advertisements of the services provided, and, in some cases, opinion articles drawn up by doctors of this medical specialty, for a lay audience. Considering the increasing international dimension of the aesthetic and hormonal enhancement biotechnologies market, the ideal of Active ageing can, today, be at the service of the culture of perfection.
Latin America is beginning to implement long-term care public policies. But only a few studies look at the situation of the countries in the region. This study aims to examine long-term care public programs in Costa Rica and to estimate the country's demand for formal care. For this purpose, we have revised its National Health Accounts, conducted five interviews with representatives of governmental institutions, reviewed the scientific literature and official reports, and analyzed the data drawn from a national care survey. The results show the existence of fragmented, poverty-focused programs that were not designed for long-term care needs. The estimated percentage of older adults in the region that currently require help to perform activities of daily living is 13.4%. The informal care work is intensive, mostly provided by a family member, and unpaid. ; Embora políticas públicas de cuidados prolongados estejam começando a ser implementadas na América Latina, poucos estudos analisam a situação dos países que compõem a região. Este estudo tem por objetivo examinar programas públicos de cuidados prolongados na Costa Rica e estimar a demanda do país por cuidados formais. Os dados foram obtidos por meio de revisão das Contas Nacionais de Saúde, cinco entrevistas com representantes de instituições governamentais, revisão da literatura científica e relatórios oficiais, e análise dos dados extraídos de uma pesquisa nacional de cuidados. Os resultados indicam a existência de programas fragmentados e focados no enfrentamento à pobreza que não foram projetados para atender às necessidades de cuidados prolongados. Estima-se que, atualmente, 13,4% dos idosos da região necessitam de ajuda na execução de atividades básicasda vida diária, e que o trabalho informal de cuidados é intensivo, oferecido principalmente por um membro da família, e não remunerado.
Introduction: Population ageing is a worldwide reality that requires attention, and a concern for healthy and functional ageing is increasingly the focus of government policies and programmes.Objective: To identify the prevalence of homebound elderly people, and the influence of sociodemographic and economic characteristics on their functional dependency.Methods: Cross-sectional study with 178 homebound elderly people assisted by a family healthcare unit in Vitória, ES, Brazil. Functional independence was measured by the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) and the sociodemographic and economic variables were collected by a questionnaire developed by the authors. Binary logistic regression was used to determine the influence of the sociodemographic and economic characteristics on the risk of being functionally dependent.Results: Forty-eight percent of the participants were functional dependents, 80% were female, 72% belonged to the fourth age, 74% were white, 63% were widowed, 78% had retired, 90% had children, 83% had a caregiver, 52% had low education and 40% had low income. Logistic regression indicated that having a caregiver increased by 40 times the chance of being functionally dependent (OR = 40.2; 95%CI 4.8–355.4) and having between one to eight years of education decreased the chance of functional dependency (OR = 0.2; 95%CI 0.04-0.9).Conclusions: The prevalence of functional dependency was very high in this sample, and since the presence of a caregiver was the strongest and significant predictor of functional dependency, we suggest that guidance and support should be offered to caregivers, followed by a family healthcare strategy, to make consistent efforts with the objective of improving functional recovery and independence of homebound elderly. ; Introduction: Population ageing is a worldwide reality that requires attention, and a concern for healthy and functional ageing is increasingly the focus of government policies and programmes.Objective: To identify the prevalence of homebound elderly people, and the influence of sociodemographic and economic characteristics on their functional dependency.Methods: Cross-sectional study with 178 homebound elderly people assisted by a family healthcare unit in Vitória, ES, Brazil. Functional independence was measured by the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) and the sociodemographic and economic variables were collected by a questionnaire developed by the authors. Binary logistic regression was used to determine the influence of the sociodemographic and economic characteristics on the risk of being functionally dependent.Results: Forty-eight percent of the participants were functional dependents, 80% were female, 72% belonged to the fourth age, 74% were white, 63% were widowed, 78% had retired, 90% had children, 83% had a caregiver, 52% had low education and 40% had low income. Logistic regression indicated that having a caregiver increased by 40 times the chance of being functionally dependent (OR = 40.2; 95%CI 4.8–355.4) and having between one to eight years of education decreased the chance of functional dependency (OR = 0.2; 95%CI 0.04-0.9).Conclusions: The prevalence of functional dependency was very high in this sample, and since the presence of a caregiver was the strongest and significant predictor of functional dependency, we suggest that guidance and support should be offered to caregivers, followed by a family healthcare strategy, to make consistent efforts with the objective of improving functional recovery and independence of homebound elderly.
