Time to plant and time to crop: social representations of health professionals and elderly about the aging process

Abstract

 Brazil is going through a demographic transition process, because the human being longevity. The present descriptive qualitative study investigates the relation between the partaken overview and the health professionals’ practice in this process. Ten participants were questioned, health professional and the users of the service of health attention. Software of content analyses was used. The results show different social representations between the participants’ concepts, pointing to the fault in the assimilation of the changes occurred in the aging reality, and the necessity of qualification to the health care practices of the elderly. The lack of specialized qualification for the care of this population interferes in the practices of taking care in health, once the scientific knowledge one don't find integrated to the social reality. We detached the relevance that the found results contribute so that the acquired knowledge accompanies the evolution of the society, how to aid in the guide of education politics and health, integrating the consensual universes and science.

Key words: Aging process; Behavioral Medicine; Life quality.