Autonomy and participatory aging: a dialogical practice

ABSTRACT Purpose: to understand the effects that dialogical practices can have on the social participation and autonomy of people over 60 years old, as well as the way they face their own aging. Methods: this qualitative study was based on the dialogical discourse analysis, which considers language as the practice that organizes and signifies human actions. Thus, after dialogical practices developed during weekly meetings of 90 minutes, focused on oral, reading and writing activities related to elderly people´s life stories, the aged participants responded to a semi-structured interview. Results: the results allowed verifying that dialogical activities had positive effects on elderly people´s social participation and autonomy, so, they could have: a) more confidence and freedom to use the language; b) strength and reassurance to make decisions; c) more possibility to cope with aging; d) enhancement of their self-esteem and self-worth. Conclusion: it can be concluded that activities based on dialogical practices can promote an active, participatory aging, with a better quality of life.