SINTOMAS ANSIOSOS E DEPRESSIVOS EM PESSOAS IDOSAS ASSISTIDAS PELA ESTRATÉGIA SAÚDE DA FAMÍLIA EM ÁREA RURAL DE CAMPO GRANDE/MS

Abstract

Aging involves a series of processes, including changes in psychological aspects and the experience of grief, resulting, in particular, from the loss of health conditions that begin to change at this stage of life. Elderly people who live in rural areas deal with the natural processes of aging and some may find themselves vulnerable. There are elderly people who have limitations related to means of transportation, access to healthcare and other social resources, which can have major impacts on mental health. Due to the importance of studies focused on the mental health of elderly people, the general objective of this research is to identify the prevalence of anxious and depressive symptoms in elderly people assisted by the Family Health Strategy in rural areas of Campo Grande/MS. This is a quantitative research, aimed at screening anxious and depressive symptoms in elderly people living in rural areas and who are assisted by the Family Health Strategy in the city of Campo Grande/MS, through the application of a questionnaire characterizing the condition. sample and brief instruments for assessing multimorbidity, functionality and that track anxious and depressive symptoms in elderly people, such as the Geriatric Anxiety Inventory (GAI) and the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). There are approximately 946 elderly people who live in rural areas and are assisted by the ESF. Taking this number as a parameter, considering a 95% confidence level, a 5% margin of error and a 22% frequency of depressive symptoms in elderly people living in rural areas, the minimum sample number required was 207 subjects. 20% was added for the purpose of multiple analyses, resulting in a sample of 239 people. Descriptive analyzes were performed and Poisson regression with robust variance was applied to identify factors associated with depressive and anxious symptoms in the rural elderly population. The research results indicate that the prevalence of depressive symptoms in the elderly people in the study was 23.29% (95%CI 18.42; 28.98) and of anxious symptoms was 22.09% (95%CI 17.33; 27,20). The factors age, marital status, physical activity, self-rated health status and medication use were associated with the presence of depressive symptoms. The factors gender, marital status, physical activity, self-assessment of health status and presence of multimorbidity were related to anxious symptoms. Through the factors associated with such symptoms, it was analyzed that psychological illness derives from social vulnerabilities and physical health conditions, involving the socioeconomic context, lack of mechanisms to deal with stressful situations, feelings of loneliness and loss of autonomy. With this, it is concluded that the elderly population in rural areas needs visibility and mental health care by the ESF, with the creation of public policies aimed at this population, thinking about health promotion, prevention and rehabilitation actions. This research has the potential to strengthen the ESF for the development of possible paths for caring for the mental health of elderly people in rural areas, such as the creation of public policies, health actions and qualification of APS professionals who serve this population. Descriptors: elderly person; mental health; family health strategy; rural areas.