ABSTRACT
Objective:
to characterize families and health status of the elderly in the Family Health Strategy and to verify the association of family composition with sociodemographic characteristics and health of the elderly.
Method:
population-based study with 215 families and 266 elderly, linked to the Family Health Strategy from a city of Rio Grande do Sul state.
Results:
there was predominance of nuclear family composition, considered as the main source of informal support, families of female elderly (62.6%) and cardiovascular complication. The nuclear structure was signifi cantly associated with female gender (PR = 0.77; p = 0.025) and smoking (PR = 1.35; p = 0.009).
Conclusion:
the results reinforce the need to maintain a network of formal and informal support to the elderly and their families to preserve the independence or to postpone the decline in functional capacity.
Key words:
Health of the Elderly; Health Profile; Family Health