PERCEPTION OF THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF THE ELDERLY MARKETER IN THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract

The maintenance of functional capacity, social interaction and financial independence are some of the important criteria for healthy old age and maintenance of quality of life. Many elderly people, due to the greater demands of the labor market and advanced age, seek street markets as an alternative to maintain or supplement their family income. The importance of these gained even more visibility with the COVID-19 pandemic, as they were considered essential to meet the population's demand. This study aimed to analyze the perception of quality of life of elderly market participants during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a quantitative cross-sectional study with analytical and descriptive character. The empirical field was the Feira de Santana Supply Center. Sixty-one (61) people participated in the study. To measure quality of life, the WHOQOL-bref and WHOQOL-old instruments were applied. The data were submitted to the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences 22.0 for Windows, and subsequently analyzed. Of the participants, 41% were men and 59% were women, and the mean age was 66.69 years. In all domains and facets of the two instruments of analysis, the averages were above 3 points. In the WHOQOL-bref, the psychological domain stood out, with an average of 4.07 points, and in the WHOQOL-old, the facet on Autonomy, with an average of 4.05 points. The domain on Environment stood out negatively, with a predominance of answers with the classification "needs improvement". The majority of the IGQV was classified as "good" (31.1%). In the WHOQOL-old, the biggest negative impact was on the facets of Past, Present, and Future Activities and Social Participation, which were rated "regular." All other facets were rated "good". The results confirm the role of work as a psychological, cognitive and functional protection factor for the elderly, reaffirming informal work in the open market as a factor of exposure to risks to the health and safety of the individual. The results of the research can foster programs and intervention actions with the elderly people who are market participants, to contribute to a satisfactory QoL.