Pessoas idosas, redes familiares e proteção social: estudo de caso em uma UPA de Salvador (2019/2021)

Abstract

Since the promulgation of the Brazilian Federal Constitution (1988), the agendas and implementation of social policies that promote equality, accessibility and guarantees of fundamental human rights, especially in the field of health and social assistance, have been the focus of attention. The creation of the Unified Health System (UHS) and its specialized care, including the Emergency Care Units (ECU) were placed at the service of the population, especially the most vulnerable. Taking a look at the elderly population over 60 years of age who are cared for at the ECU Hélio Machado in Salvador, in the biennium between June 2019 and June 2021, for an assessment of elderly people's access to public health before and after the covid pandemic 19. The objective is to describe the legal-institutional relationships of social protection for the elderly, linking family networks and accessibility to health. We chose the qualitative bias methodology, with an inductive approach and recent historical perspective for institutional description and analysis. The empirical survey is divided into four groups: elderly people, family members, health professionals and local community, through the application of questionnaires and semi-structured interviews at the ECU Hélio Machado in Salvador, Bahia. According to the complaints in the appointments, the following pathologies were counted: Arterial Hypertension, Diabetes Mellitus, Respiratory Tract Infection, Heart Failure, Stroke and others (depression, anxiety crisis, edema, bite from pets, joint and back pain, physical pain, domestic accidents). As a result of this case study, there is an absence or long time interval for admission, monitoring and comprehensive care for the elderly in the biennium. According to the data collected, there was a greater number of deaths of elderly people at home due to radical isolation during lockdown.