Contexts and lifestyles of the elderly – Female´s narrative

Abstract

The principle of investigation is based on the characterization of contexts and lifestyles of aged women who related us their life stories. This study was based on a sample of 10 aged women, all of them up to 65 years old, 5 of them in an institutional context and 5 of them in a non-institutional context. This study is a research based on a qualitative approach. The semi-structured individual interview was the means used in this investigation and the elements were analyzed according to Bardin, 2007. Results: The main results achieved show that: a) 7 of the interviewed aged women prefer the non-institutional context; b) the aged women in a non-institutional context show a higher lifestyle achieving active, productive and valorizing activities comparing to the ones in an institutional context. According to our study we can infer that the elaboration, divulgation and accessibility to dynamic leisure programs (individual and in group), considering each aged person’s tastes and interests, provide and assure their integration and participation in social and familiar life which are fundamental means to grow old with quality of life.