Abstract
Pain involves sociocultural and psychosocial dimensions that influence the experience and expression of the pain phenomenon, as well as the human and technological resources required for its care. This article seeks to understand the meaning attributed by elderly people to care of the person in old age who experiences pain and discuss it from the approach to pain in public health practices. The research was developed using a qualitative anthropological approach and based on the intersubjective contact between the researcher and the individuals researched. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with 57 elderly people. The methodology of Signs, Meanings and Actions governed the collection and analysis of the data to investigate behavior associated with pain. The meaning of care of pain in public health practices was observed in three analytical categories, namely pain in the context of life, language in the care of the person in pain, and the pain inflicted in care practices. The care of pain in health care is not limited to the organic aspect, but it mobilizes the whole existence of the elderly person, interferes in the communicative process and causes suffering. Care of pain must include the users in the therapeutic process and mobilize them to regain control over their lives.
Key words
Pain; Comprehensive Health Care; Elderly; Public Health