Abstract
The understanding about support and environmental quality becomes of fundamental importance for interventions and improvement of conditions and quality of life of the older population. This study aimed to identify the perception of environmental support and its implications in the development of personal projects in old age. This is an exploratory, descriptive, and quantitative qualitative study. A total of 76 older adults residents in three condominiums of the Cidade Madura Program of the state of Paraíba participated in the study. Sociodemographic and personal projects questionnaires were used for data collection. The analyzes were performed by content analysis from Bardin’s perspective. The average age found in the study was 71.01 years, with a predominance of women (56.6%), of marital status married (31.6%), low educational level, up to a minimum monthly wage of earnings (76.3%), and retirees (73.7%). The analysis of Personal Projects resulted in 08 activity categories: Affective bonding, Domestic activities, Leisure, Commitment Activities, Religion, Health, Gardening, Information/distraction. The environment (physical and contextual) is an important ally in the accomplishment of these activities, which reflect on a global well-being. The study concluded that potentialities of the environment such as safety, tranquility, socialization, and accessibility provide favorable support in the performance of daily activities, which, consequently, reflects in a general well-being and better quality of life. Some environmental weaknesses, such as lack of urban accessibility, inefficiency and insufficiency of health services and public transportation were also cited by the older adults as limitations in carrying out their personal projects.
Keywords:
Aging; Aged; Personal Projects; Environmental support