Maria da Silva Santana’s research while affiliated with Universidade do Vale do Acaraú and other places

Aim to identify the social representations of physical activity in the context of programs for the elderly in Natal (RN), Brazil. A study Cross-sectional quantitative and qualitative. A non-probability sample and for convenience was formed by seventy individuals. In data collection we used a questionnaire with demographic data, free association of words and open question. The core of the representation was composed of happiness / health / dance and gymnastics, revealing different understandings and also showing that accumulated knowledge of physical activity plays a central role in the lives of older people, gradually acquiring the representation of "life with better health and quality in old age". The composition of the core when considering mental elaborations, emotions, practices and explanations arising from daily life that are introduced into the constitution of social representation in focus, can influence the choices and strategies to promote improvement in health standards and quality of life of elderly.

Objective This work analysed senior citizens' perception of needs and social values involved in taking physical activity for their own benefit. This study's main aim was to investigate social representations of 3rd age physical activity. Methods This was a cross-sectional, interdisciplinary qualitative study, underpinned by theoretical-methodological social representation theory. A convenience, non-probabilistic, census-dependent method was used for obtaining the sam­ple of 62 people aged 50 to 78 from north-eastern Brazil. The data were collected by using the free word association technique and analysed by EVOC/2000 software. Results Analysing the replies led to three types of elements being identified which were related to the social representation of physical activity as attributed by the elderly: a psychological dimension (represented by happiness, well-being), a social dimension (dancing) and a biophysical dimension (gymnastics, water-gym­nastics and health). The term "happiness" stood out most in the word recall tests. When relating old age to the sample's social representation of physical activity, the study showed that physical activity assumed a preponderant role in the life of the elderly through cyclical appreciation-depreciation, social representation simultane­ously and gradually acquiring "life having more health and quality" from social representation. Conclusions The subjects reported a positive association between physical activity, social interaction and well-being. The elderly also believed in physical activity's effects on physical-motor aspects and health. The social representation of physical activity by the group being studied was close to the physical activity's biopsychosocial dimension.

This work analysed senior citizens' perception of needs and social values involved in taking physical activity for their own benefit. This study's main aim was to investigate social representations of 3rd age physical activity. This was a cross-sectional, interdisciplinary qualitative study, underpinned by theoretical-methodological social representation theory. A convenience, non-probabilistic, census-dependent method was used for obtaining the sam-ple of 62 people aged 50 to 78 from north-eastern Brazil. The data were collected by using the free word association technique and analysed by EVOC/2000 software. Analysing the replies led to three types of elements being identified which were related to the social representation of physical activity as attributed by the elderly: a psychological dimension (represented by happiness, well-being), a social dimension (dancing) and a biophysical dimension (gymnastics, water-gymnastics and health). The term 'happiness' stood out most in the word recall tests. When relating old age to the sample's social representation of physical activity, the study showed that physical activity assumed a preponderant role in the life of the elderly through cyclical appreciation-depreciation, social representation simultaneously and gradually acquiring 'life having more health and quality' from social representation. The subjects reported a positive association between physical activity, social interaction and well-being. The elderly also believed in physical activity's effects on physical-motor aspects and health. The social representation of physical activity by the group being studied was close to the physical activity's biopsychosocial dimension.