A garantia de direitos dos idosos : análise do programa vida saudável no município de Contagem.

Abstract

The process of population aging has become a prominent theme throughout Brazil. The same happens with the population of the city of Contagem, currently considered the third most populous municipality in the state of Minas Gerais. The rapid growth of the elderly population has caused significant changes in society. This fact has brought to light the need to invest in public policies aimed at addressing the issues that permeate the daily life of the elderly, including people with disabilities. Persons 60 years of age and older are entitled to rights guaranteed by current legislation such as the Constitution of the Federative Republic of Brazil and the Elderly Statute. The State, as one of those responsible for ensuring that this population segment has access to its rights, must through public policies, promote the development of actions that promote the health and quality of life of the elderly. Thus, the present study aims to analyze whether the Healthy Living Program in the city of Contagem has achieved, as a public policy, the objective of promoting health and healthy aging through the democratization of leisure, culture and recreational sports for people 60 years and over, including disabled. To this end, we evaluated the results of a questionnaire with questions that included information about the health of these people, which was answered by 359 individuals benefited by the program, participants from different nuclei if healthy living in Contagem, from 2016 to 2018.The data obtained through the questionnaire made it possible to partially identify the impact caused by the actions performed in the program on the participants’ lives, as well as possible reductions in public investments in the health of the elderly.