ADULT´S UNDERSTANDING OF DISEASE IN THE CURITIBA METROPOLITAN AREA

• Main Authors: Ymiracy Nascimento de Souza Polak, Dilma Regina G. Kalegari, Dircélia Emalise Domingues, Inês Sayuri Yamasaki
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade Federal do Paraná 1996-12-01
• Series: Cogitare Enfermagem
• Subjects: Disease; Adult
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.5380/ce.v1i2.8730

A qualitative study, developed among adult population of Curitiba, whose main purpose was the understanding of health based on people’s speeches. For that, 452 interviews werw deld in health isnstitutions, secondary and graduate schools and at students home. The desire of abtaing the main featuresled us to divide the group in three segments: young adults, people aged from 10 t0 19 years old, the adult itself and older adults, aged above 60 yers old. From the interpretation af their speeches the following 10 categories which allowed a better comprehension of illness emerged: punishmate; incapability and dependence; absence of health, desequilibrium; insanitary health pratices , changes od life rhythm; bad financial conditions, bad relationship whit himself, other people and the world; existence of aggresive agents from internal and/or external sources. The speeches about illness gave us a view of the way these people perceive notice and understand their world and also the feeling they had when they got sick. It also allowed to find evidences about the relationship that exists among themselves, and amog other people and the world, reinforcing the comception of "being in the world".