CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

Under the collaboration agreement between the Centre for Research and Studies on Culture and Society (CIECS-CONICET), the National University of Cordoba, the Center for Demography and Ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, WHO / PAHO Collaboration Center on Aging and Health at the University of Texas Medical Branch and the National Institute of Statistics and Census of Argentina (INDEC), a multidisciplinary research group responsible for the development of the national survey questionnaire on the elderly to be held in Argentina was established. Argentina along with Uruguay are a particular case in Latin America, since the demographic transition began early, the aging process occurred much earlier and more gradually than in the other countries of the region; being Argentina one of the oldest populations in SouthAmerica (Chackiel, 2004). However there are few data on older adults specifically, that can be obtained in the SABE survey, and other surveys of Social Development. Hence the importance of the topicFor the preparation of this survey we took into account other Latin American works, such as PREHCO, MHAS of Mexico and CRELES of Costa Rica, among others. In addition we have also considered the proposal of the CELADE, therefore included questions on knowledge of sexual and reproductive rights, some questions on self-perception of aging, etc.It is designed as a transversal study addressed to non institutionalized population more than 60 years old, with a face-to-face interview and antropometric measures, tests of physical perfomance and the application of a cognoscitive test. Details of the sampling design are currently being discussed.This survey will be aplied along with others to a part of the population that have been followed and thus we already have data, giving the possibility of linking the data obtained in this survey with others performed separately.The questionarie addresses three themes: Health, Economic Security, Enabling and supportive environments.In Health, we considered health status, including country-specific particularities (for example we causes of abandon of treatment in Tuberculosis, etc.), risks factors, nutritional status, depression as a disease and as a screening test (we used Yesavage abrieged scale of eldery depression); preventive activities in health, deficiencies, sexual and reproductive health, fecundity, childhood conditions, functional status, life satisfaction, medicamentos, use and access to health services. As for economic security, we investigated on work history, intergenerational transfers, strategies and financial sources, etc. Since there are others surveys that will be investigating the socio-economical field, we won´t The novelty of the Argentina survey refers to the incorporation of the issue of enabling and supportive environments, which is one of the priority thematic guidelines established by the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing, adopted in the Second World Asssembly on Ageing 2002. Also, the Regional Implementation Strategy of the Madrid Action Plan (2003), reinforces the priority of enabling and supportive environments, and sets specific targets that allude to the adaptation of the physical environment to the characteristics and needs of elderly, increasing the availability, sustainability and adequacy of social support systems, the elimination of all forms of discrimination and abuse, and promoting a positive image of aging. Regarding this issue, CELADE propose the areas of intervention, issues and variables that make enabling and supportive environments, which are what we consider in the survey questionnaires and are the following:Residential arrangement/settlement Household Constitution SatisfactionSocial support Support of household members/Support to household membersSupport from people outside the home Support to people outside the home.Support organizationsSatisfaction with the support given/receivedCommunity IntegrationParticipation in community organizationsActivities to avoid feelings of lonelinessSocial life intensityInterest in staying informed of the presentInteraction with the environment outside homeActivity initiated after retirementLeisure timeEducationSupport literacy programsAssistance for Seniors coursesBarriers to access to courses and programs for the elderlySatisfaction with educational attainment AbuseDomestic abuseAbuse outside the homefinancial abuseAccess to social and legal servicesPhysical environmentsManagement of modern technologies and ICTMicrowave OperationATM ManagementUsing mobile phoneUsing computerUsing Internet DwellingAdequacy of Housing / Housing satisfactionResidential spaceAdequacy of neighborhood / Satisfaction with the neighborhoodTransport Forms of displacementAccess to public transportAdequacy of transportLimitations of public transportSatisfaction with public transport