Health Care for the Elderly Population in Basic Health Units: Reflections about Multiprofessional Care

Abstract

The assistance of the multidisciplinary team to the elderly should happen in a specific way and contribute to a better quality of life for this population, this study starts from the following guiding question: “How does the literature address health care for the elderly in primary care?”, and aims to reflect on the importance of health care in primary care for elderly patients. This is a study of the narrative literary review type, with a theoretical-reflective aspect, a qualitative approach and an exploratory bias. For the survey of the study, articles from the databases, Scientific Electronic Library Online (SCIELO), American and Caribbean Literature in Science and Health (LILACS), Database in Nursing (BDENF), via the Virtual Health Library ( BVS) and MEDLINE via PubMed. The eligibility criteria were articles published in scientific journals, books and book chapters, theses and dissertations in Portuguese, related to the theme. In the total search, 185 studies were found, of which 10 were included in the study. From the analysis, the following categories emerged, namely: Primary care and health of the elderly; Skills of the multidisciplinary team in caring for the elderly in primary health care. Primary care is an integral part of the country's health system, and represents the first level of contact for people, families and society as a whole with the national health system, where health education activities aimed at prevention and protection are developed. ; family planning; maternal and child health; immunization; prevention and control of endemic diseases; treatment of common illnesses and injuries; provision of essential medicines; distribution of information on proper nutrition, water treatment and sanitation. And in the context of elderly health, the multidisciplinary team has the function of physical, mental and social rehabilitation, prevention of injuries, treatment of existing diseases and health promotion. The identification of conceptions about health care for the elderly in primary care can contribute to the reflection on the multidisciplinary care provided to this population. New studies will be carried out on the use of this model to design indicators that measure the effectiveness of the assistance activities recommended for the elderly in primary health care.