Health literacy of older people in primary care

摘要

OBJECTIVE: To analyze how elderly people linked to health education groups of a primary care unit seek, understand and share information, aiming to maintain and promote health throughout life. METHODS: Qualitative descriptive study, conducted with 30 elderlies linked to three groups of health education during the second semester of 2009. The data collection was performed through interviews and thematic analysis with the assistance of the NVivo software. RESULTS: Five categories of analysis were elaborated - Interest/concern in health, search, understanding, sharing and impact of information on the elderly. CONCLUSIONS: The health literacy in the groups developed in an individual perspective, focused on the prevention and treatment of injuries, respecting the history and knowledge of the subjects and appreciating the possibilities of exchange among them. The results support the planning, implementation and improvement of actions in health education with older people in primary care.