title: [Self-assessment of health by older Brazilians: systematic review of the literature].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To conduct a systematic review of the literature on self-assessment of health status in the elderly population.
  
  
  METHODS
  Medline and LILACS were searched following the Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) methodology. Original articles on self-assessment of health status conducted with older Brazilians were selected. The following were examined: general characteristics of the studies, the prevalence of negative self-assessment of health, the factors associated with this negative self-assessment, the question used to inquire about health status and response categories.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 97 studies identified, 11 met the inclusion criteria. Variations between the studies regarding the formulation of the question and answer choices were identified. The prevalence of negative health self-assessment ranged from 12.6 to 51.9% between studies. The most usual dependent variables associated with negative self-assessment of health were the presence of disease, number of medications, monthly family/household income, hospitalizations, medical office visits, difficulty/inability to perform activities of daily living, presence of depressive and anxiety symptoms, and complaints of insomnia.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The heterogeneity of factors associated with a negative self-evaluation indicates that the health of older individuals is defined by determinants that fall within a broad view of health. The standardization of questions and answers for research on self-assessment of health in older people is recommended, since this information will produce knowledge and allow monitoring and comparison of results, and will therefore be useful in guiding decision-making regarding the formulation of health policies for Brazil and Latin America.
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Enfermagem, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia, GO, Brazil.
authors.forename: Valéria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Pagotto
authors.forename: Maria Márcia
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Bachion
authors.forename: Erika Aparecida da
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Silveira
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001938:Brazil; D059026:Diagnostic Self Evaluation; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans