Social support perceived by patients hospitalized in a Geriatric Hospital

Abstract

The perception of social support by the elderly originates from the attention they receive and perceive from their family and extrafamilial surroundings, from the community, from their caregiver and from the professional environment; as well as at their home, job and during hospitalization. The objective of the work is to describe the social support perceived in elderly people hospitalized in the Geriatric Hospital "Prof. Dr. Gerardo Buongermini”, from the city of Asunción, year 2018. 

The MOS questionnaire of social support was used. The design was cross-sectional descriptive observational. 90 patients participated, with an average age of 76  8 years, 62.22% were female, 66.66% came from the urban area and 53.33% were married. The emotional support perceived was maximum in 62.22%, material support in 85.60%, social support for leisure and distraction in 52.22% and affective social support in 88.88% of patients. The overall index was maximum in 81.11% and a medium in 18.89% of the patients.