Apoio social e qualidade de vida: um estudo comparativo entre idosos cuidadores e idosos receptores de cuidado

Abstract

Introduction: Specific health demands may exist among the older adults and this reinforces the need to study aspects capable of improving quality of life and health in old age. In this sense, social support has been considered an important determinant of health and disease. With the aging population and the higher prevalence of chronic non-communicable diseases, there may be limitations in the performance of activities of daily living and the need for a caregiver. The task of caregiving may arise suddenly and the caregiver may need social support, especially when they are older adults who care for other older adults. Scholars point out that having social support in old age can improve the quality of life and well-being of caregivers. It is known that a lack of social support can intensify health problems and negatively impact caregiving. Thus, by early identification of the scarcity or insufficiency of social support, interventions can be planned in order to reduce health care costs and improve the quality of life of these individuals. Objective: comparing social support and quality of life among older caregivers and older adults care recipients. Method: observational, cross-sectional and quantitative research. It is a cut of a larger study conducted in the city of São Carlos/SP, with 112 older people aged 60 years or older who lived with another older person, 56 older caregivers and 56 older adults care receivers. Data collection took place at the older adults home from July/2019 to March/2020, with the following instruments: questionnaire for characterization of the older adults (caregivers and care recipients) and of the care context, Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Scale and two Quality of Life Questionnaires (WHOQOL-Bref and WHOQOL-Old). Descriptive and comparative analyses were performed. Pearson's Chi-square, Mann-Whitney, and Spearman's Correlation tests were used. The significance level adopted was 5% (p<0.05). All ethical aspects involving research with human beings were observed. Results: regarding social support, the older caregivers obtained a mean score of 81.64 and the older adults care receivers, 83.53. With regard to the results obtained in the scales on quality of life, the older caregivers had total mean scores of 61.79 and 71.73. The older adults care receivers had mean total scores of 60.73 and 70.39. A statistically significant difference was identified between the participants for material support (p=0.004) and the physical domain of the quality of life scale (p=0.002). A direct and moderate correlation was observed between quality of life and social support of the older caregivers (p<0.001). Conclusion: older caregivers have lower scores of material support and better perception of the physical domain of the quality of life scale when compared to the older adults care receivers. Moreover, the correlation identified between the variables of interest allows us to infer that the higher the score obtained in the social support scale, the higher the score in the quality of life scale.