Speech therapy profile of elderly participants in social groups developed in Primary Health Care

Abstract

Introduction: Aging is a complex, multidimensional phenomenon, with physical, psychological, social and economic changes. These influence the reduction of the functional capacity of the individual in this period of life, and communication disorders and alterations of the stomatognathic system can be developed, requiring speech therapy in the elderly. Professionals inserted in Primary Health Care (PHC) can and should develop actions that seek to minimize frailties with the elderly. Objective: To identify the sociodemographic and speech therapy profile of elderly participants in social groups. Method: A cross-sectional, quantitative study with elderly people aged 60 years or older, of both sexes, participants of coexistence groups, assisted by the Family Health Strategy (FHS) teams and the Extended Center for Family Health and Primary Care (NASF - AB) of the II Health District of Maceió/Alagoas. Questionnaires adapted from validated instruments on sociodemographic characteristics, general clinical and speech therapy aspects were applied to the elderly and analyzed descriptively. Results: Participants were 54 elderly, 90.7% women, widows (44.4%), with 1 to 4 years of schooling (42.6%) and retired (72.2%); hypertensive (74.1%), with osteoarticular diseases (63.0%) and physical activity practitioners (37.0%). They presented alterations in speech-language pathology aspects: 64.8% chewing; 66.7% swallowing; 55.6% voice; 98.1% speech and language; and 85.2% hearing. Conclusion: Speech-language alterations were recurrent in the elderly, reinforcing the need for actions based on health promotion and prevention, and comprehensive and closer care must be provided to users enrolled in their area.