title: Vulnerability of families of elderly citizens cared for by the Family Health Strategy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  the present descriptive, exploratory, cross-sectional study aimed to identify the vulnerability of families of elderly citizens cared for by the Family Health Strategy (FHS).
  
  
  METHODS
  the research employed home interviews and was developed with a sample of 500 families of aged people cared for by 32 FHS teams in the city of Dourados, MS, Brazil. The Family Development Index (FDI) was adapted in order to classify the families according to their degree of vulnerability.
  
  
  RESULTS
  the results revealed the presence of multigenerational families with low educational levels among individuals over the age of 20 and high illiteracy rates among elderly citizens. There were 403 families whose vulnerability was acceptable, 95 in severe vulnerability, and two families in a condition of very severe vulnerability. The most critical dimensions of the FDI were the access to knowledge and to work.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  the study identified that there is still a need for further investments that can assist these aged people and their families in the Primary Health Care.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Escola de Enfermagem, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, Campo Grande, MS, Brasil.
authors.forename: Rosely Almeida
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Souza
authors.affiliation: Curso de Enfermagem, Universidade Estadual de Mato Grosso do Sul, Dourados, MS, Brasil.
authors.forename: Márcia Regina Martins
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Alvarenga
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Enfermagem, Escola de Enfermagem, Universidade de Guarulhos, Guarulhos, SP, Brasil.
authors.forename: Fernanda
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Amendola
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Enfermagem, Escola de Enfermagem, Universidade Católica de Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brasil.
authors.forename: Tharsila Martins Rios
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Enfermagem, Escola de Enfermagem, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil.
authors.forename: Cintia Hitomi
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Yamashita
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Enfermagem em Saúde Coletiva, Escola de Enfermagem, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil.
authors.forename: Maria Amélia de Campos
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Oliveira
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001938:Brazil; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005192:Family Health; D005260:Female; D006299:Health Services for the Aged; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D055815:Young Adult