Social integration profiles among non-frail elderly institutionalized individuals in Natal, State of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil

Abstract The scope of this study was to profile non-frail elderly individuals in Long-Stay Care Institutions in Natal, emphasizing social integration and stratification in philanthropic and private institutions in 2012. The instrument used was the Brazil Old Age Schedule (BOAS). Descriptive analysis was carried out and sociodemographic and health profiles of the elderly were estimated using the Grade of Membership (GoM) scale to obtain social integration typologies. The results indicated that 68 elderly were eligible; 63.2% were female, and 51.5% were 80 years or older; 43% reported poor or extremely poor health. The application of the GoM method yielded three profiles. The first is characterized by the elderly with higher presence of sociable/integrated men living in philanthropic institutions (22% of the elderly); the second mainly encompasses women in philanthropic institutions, with vulnerable health conditions and depression (34.9%); the third is the profile with higher levels of integration/sociability in private institutions, but also characterized by elderly persons with functional disability (34.9%). This study is important since integration and independence must be a part of social life of the elderly irrespective of the place where they live.

摘要 本研究旨在对巴西纳塔尔市长期照护机构中的非衰弱老年人群体开展画像分析，重点聚焦2012年慈善照护机构与私立照护机构内的社会融合与社会分层状况。本研究采用巴西老年人口问卷（Brazil Old Age Schedule, BOAS）作为调研工具，通过描述性分析及归属等级量表（Grade of Membership, GoM）对老年人群的社会人口学与健康特征进行建模，以获取社会融合类型学划分。研究结果显示，共计68名老年人符合入组标准：其中63.2%为女性，51.5%年龄在80岁及以上，43%自述健康状况不佳或极差。归属等级量表法的应用得到三类老年人群画像：第一类以居住于慈善机构、社交活跃且社会融合度较高的男性老年人为主，占总样本的22%；第二类主要为慈善机构中的女性老年人，其健康状况脆弱且伴随抑郁症状，占比34.9%；第三类群体在私立机构中拥有更高的社会融合与社交水平，但同时存在功能性残疾问题，占比同样为34.9%。本研究具有重要意义，因为无论老年人群的居住场所为何，社会融合与自主独立都应成为其社会生活的核心组成部分。