Atenção à saúde mental na velhice: uma revisão integrativa

Abstract

Old age is a phenomenon that entails important changes at a biological, psychological, social, economic and cultural level, in addition to the fact that one does not live in its natural state due to a status imposed by the society to which we belong. Among the psychiatric reform process and the field of mental health care, despite the advances acquired over time, there are weaknesses and omissions related to mental health issues for the elderly. In a way, it is observed that they did not benefit as subjects of this process, in addition to the fact that there is a lack of studies in the field of mental health in old age, signaling the need for specific foundations and knowledge aimed at mental health care in old age in its growing demands. Therefore, this research aimed to analyze the main issues related to mental health in old age posed by the literature in the latin american context, from an integrative literature review, in the SciELO, Redalyc and LILACS databases, between 2011 and 2021, totaling 23 scientific articles for analysis, which were categorized into the following themes: Representations of old age, aging and stigmas related to the elderly as problems related to mental health; Profile of users and users, mental health demands and mental health services; Use of medicines and medicalization of old age; Suicide, bereavement and the worsening of mental health; Mental health, sociocultural aspects and associated factors (gender, disabilities, risks and vulnerabilities); and Practices and approaches in mental health care. It was concluded that the predominance of the biomedical perspective regarding the processes of aging and old age and on the health concepts and experiences of the elderly, based on the biological, mechanical-functional aspects of the body and the curative apparatus, representative of our society's view of the capacities production and consumption, which seems to contribute to stigmatization, exclusion and medicalization of elderly people, demanding new knowledge and practices related to mental health care and coping with these phenomena from the perspective of psychosocial care.