Vulnerability of families of elderly citizens cared for by the Family Health Strategy

Objective: the present descriptive, exploratory, cross-sectional study aimed to identify the vulnerability of families of elderly citizens cared for by the Family Health Strategy (FHS). Method: the research employed home interviews and was developed with a sample of 500 families of aged people cared for by 32 FHS teams in the city of Dourados, MS, Brazil. The Family Development Index (FDI) was adapted in order to classify the families according to their degree of vulnerability. Results: the results revealed the presence of multigenerational families with low educational levels among individuals over the age of 20 and high illiteracy rates among elderly citizens. There were 403 families whose vulnerability was acceptable, 95 in severe vulnerability, and two families in a condition of very severe vulnerability. The most critical dimensions of the FDI were the access to knowledge and to work. Conclusion: the study identified that there is still a need for further investments that can assist these aged people and their families in the Primary Health Care.