Scientific production on the self-care of the elderly in the covid-19 pandemic

Integrative Literature Review

Abstract

The general objective of this study was to analyze national and international scientific production on self-care for the elderly in the context of the covid-19 pandemic. To achieve the objectives outlined, this study is defined as an Integrative Literature Review (RIL). Data collection took place in the Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature (LILACS), Pubmed, Virtual Health Library (BVS) and Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO) collection databases. Thus, 23 studies were collected. After critically reading the titles and abstracts of the studies, 12 articles were selected to compose the final sample of this research. The analysis of the articles included in the study allowed us to verify that the pandemic had an impact on the self-care of the elderly, causing problems in the psychological well-being and mental health of the elderly and making it difficult to conduct daily activities. In addition, recommendations are proposed to mitigate such damage, for example, the use of technologies for the telehealth service, mobile applications, and health education. Finally, it is recommended that new research be conducted that encompasses the experiences of self-care practices conducted by the elderly during the pandemic period, on the use of technologies to support self-care, in view of some limitations present on the usability of tools technologies for the elderly.