Environmental docility in a long-term institution for aging population in Natal/RN/Brazil: an approach from the perspective of caregivers
Environmental docility; Long-term care institution; Aging
Currently, there is a situation of aging population and an increasing demand for long-term care in institutions for the elderly, which, in turn, tend to have their functional capacity reduced over time. Therefore, in this dynamic scenario, challenges arise that require adaptation between the demands of the physical and social environment as individual resources, being certain that, in the presence of congruence and harmonization between these two aspects, the adaptive behavior of the elderly to the environment tends to show a positive result. Taking this into account, the hypothesis of environmental docility points out that the less competent the individual is, the greater the impact of the environment on his behavior. By incorporating several demands related to the day, the built environment can act as a prosthetic aid, compensating the decline in age-related skills and ensuring the good performance of an individual, allowing him greater comfort and quality of life. Within this context, the present study seeks to understand the relationship between the environments of a long-term care institution in Natal / RN and the needs of institutionalized elderly people, in order to analyze the environmental docility in the social areas of the institution. It is worth nothing that for this qualification exam, the results and the final considerations are still partial, involving the material worked to date.