HEALTH PERCEPTION OF ELDERLY PARTICIPANTS IN A DIGITAL INCLUSION PROGRAM

Abstract

Objective: This research aimed to investigate the subjective perception of health of the elderly participants in a digital inclusion program in the project “Viver a Vida” (Live Life in free translation) of Paranaprevidência. Methodology: 21 elderly people aged 60 years or over participated in the research. To assess the perception of health, the question “What is health for you?” was asked. The analysis of the descriptive data was performed by means, standard deviation and frequency. The analysis of qualitative data was made through thematic analysis, with an analysis of the co-occurrence of significant words. Following the methodology, a theme identification technique called Word Cloud was applied. Results: In the analysis, the results came from a fluctuating reading leading to the formulation of hypotheses. The term “health” stands out and establishes a connection with the theme “life”, leading to the understanding that health is life or that life is directly related to health. In the word cloud, it is made clear that health is life, health is living well, health is being dependent and having autonomy in your choices, not taking medicines, eating quality food, having good relationships with others and with yourself, leading to a physical and emotional well-being. Conclusion: According to the results, in this research, the perception of health is not related only to the absence of disease. Descriptors: Digital inclusion. Health. Elderly.