title: [Social support and living conditions in poor elderly people in urban Mexico].
abstract: The aim of this paper was to analyze social support and living conditions among poor elderly people in Mexican cities. A qualitative study with eight focus groups was carried out in Guadalajara, Cuernavaca, Chilpancingo, and Culiacan, Mexico, in 2005. Forty men and 63 women participated in the study. The main support for the elderly in daily living came from their immediate family and in some cases from neighbors. Social support was basically material and economic, in addition to providing company and transportation for medical appointments. Daily emotional support, companionship, and social inclusion were minimal or absent. The study identified a significant lack of support from government and religious or civil society organizations. The family is still the main source of support for the elderly. Increased government collaboration is dramatically needed to combat the misconception that the needs of the elderly are the individual family's responsibility rather than a collaborative effort by society.
authors.affiliation: Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, Cuernavaca, México.
authors.forename: Blanca Estela
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Pelcastre-Villafuerte
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Treviño-Siller
authors.forename: Tonatiuh
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: González-Vázquez
authors.forename: Margarita
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Márquez-Serrano
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005190:Family; D005195:Family Relations; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006798:Housing; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico; D011157:Population Dynamics; D011203:Poverty; D012924:Social Conditions / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012944:Social Support; D014505:Urban Population