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.摘要：研究目的：探讨对话实践对60岁以上人群社会参与与自主能力的影响，以及他们应对自身衰老的方式。研究方法：本质性研究以对话话语分析为理论基础，该分析范式将语言视为组织并赋予人类行动意义的实践活动。研究团队每周开展90分钟的对话实践活动，主题围绕老年人的人生故事展开口语表达、阅读与书写相关内容；活动结束后，对参与研究的老年参与者进行半结构化访谈。研究结果：结果证实，对话活动对老年人的社会参与与自主能力具有积极作用，具体表现为：a）使用语言时更具信心与自由度；b）拥有更强的决策底气与安全感；c）更具备应对衰老的能力；d）提升了自尊水平与自我价值感。研究结论：综上可知，基于对话实践开展的活动可推动老年人实现积极、参与式的衰老进程，进而改善其生活质量。