[Who told you to grow old and live on the streets?].
This qualitative case study is part of another study: Aging, health and work. The objective of this excerpt was to identify the meaning of aging on the streets for the elderly living on the street. The subjects' statements were analyzed under the light of the following themes: history of aging and history of life on the streets. It was understood that the streets are usually a hostile environment for the elderly. It does not guarantee the basic life conditions, affecting the mental health of people who are forced to live on the streets, particularly the elderly. The street does not offer any way out and, together with to the life conditions of the elderly living on the streets leads to the gradual loss of self-esteem, significantly affecting self-care. In addition to these issues, we found that compromised functional capacity puts the life/survival of the elderly living on the streets at risk.
Brêtas
Ana Cristina Passarella
AC
Departamento de Enfermagem da Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil. acpbretas@unifesp.br
Marcolan
João Fernando
JF
Rosa
Anderson da Silva
Ada S
Fernandes
Flávia Saraiva Leão
FS
Raizer
Milena Veiga
MV
D000368:Aged; D006703:Ill-Housed Persons / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male