ABSTRACT
Objective:
to analyze similarities and dissimilarities in the meanings assigned to health care by long-lived elders and nursing professionals in a healthcare setting.
Method:
ethnographic qualitative research, based on the Spradley-McCurdy method and the interpretive anthropology of Geertz and Kleinman. The sample consisted of 20 key informants. Data were collected through participatory observation and ethnographic interviews from March to October 2013 and analyzed in domains, taxonomies and cultural themes.
Results:
Six domains and cultural taxonomies emerged and revealed reasons, attributes, and resources in providing care in relationship to long-lived elders and nursing professionals; fi nally, the following cultural theme emerged: the real to the ideal - the health (un)care of long-lived elders.
Conclusion:
The study showed the distance between the desired and actual health care provided to aged people in the scenario studied.
Key words:
Aged, 80 and over; Geriatric Nursing; Nursing; Culture; Health Services for the Aged