SATISFACTION OF ELDERLY PEOPLE FROM BRAZILIAN NORTHEAST ABOUT DIGITAL INCLUSION PROGRAM

Abstract

Purpose: In Brazil, the total of people aged 65 or more is 22.169.101, representing 10.9% of the population and an increase of 57.4% in comparison to 2010 when it was 14.081.477 or 7.4% of the population. Elderly people in Brazil are those aged 60, population that represents 32.113.490 (15.6%), an increase of 56,0% in comparison to 2010, when it was 20.590.597 (10.8%) (IBGE, 2022). Population aging is a global phenomenon. The fast progress of technologies is also a global phenomenon. Technology is inserted in many contexts of life, like health, mobility, leisure, housing, work, education, etc (RAYMUNDO, 2019). Despite being an advantage in contemporary times, it is also a challenge for elderly people who have had less contact with technology throughout their lives (RAYMUNDO, 2019) and who are exposed to context of social exclusion. This dilemma boosts the proposition of models of digital inclusion supported by senior technology (OPAS, 2023), the Digital Proficiency and Literacy in Health Program (DPLHP). Method: Cross-sectional study approvaled by ethics committee. The DPLHP consists in three workshops with three hours each, once a week aiming to teach how to use the cell phone and how to navigate the internet for search health information. At the end of the PDPLH was carried out an assessment for analyzing the satisfaction of the elderly people about the Program. The content of the workshops was centered on the elderly people’s need or wish of learning some tasks on their cell phone. A booklet was prepared by the researcher team and given to the elderly people, explaning step by step of many tasks in the cell phone. The design of the groups in the workshops was one teacher for each four elderly persons (1:4) to increase the interaction between the participants. Recife is a city of Pernambuco state, in Brazilian northeast and Recife is divided in 8 health districts (zones), but the research was made in the sociability groups for elderly people in health district 4 with support of city hall. The health district 4 has 13 neighborhood. A health district is a minimum organizational unit of the Brazilian health system. The researcher team had 14 teachers and the research was made in 8 months. Results and discussion: The total of 237 elderly people participated of the DPLHP, 204 women (86%) and 33 men (14%), 166 persons (70%) affirmed were “very satisfied” and 59 (25%) affirmed were “satisfied”. The others (n=12=5%) affirmed were “little satisfied or dissatisfied” with the Program. Participating in this Program improved the knowledge about the topic for 54 persons (23%), improved the mental health for 15 persons (6%) and both for 164 persons (69%). For 4 persons (2%) the Program didn’t improve anything. The Program received a grade of 9.1 (±1.1), median of 10. The feedbacks about the Program highlighted the requirement of “more times a week”, “more classes”, “longer duration”, “classes with specific topics” and “color booklet”. The satistaction of elderly people and the feedbacks are very important qualitative indicators for success and continuity of the Program.