Speech therapy and nursing undergraduates' perceptions on aging processes and education for elders' care

Abstract

PURPOSE:   to identify speech therapy and nursing undergraduates' perceptions on aging and education for elders' care.

METHODS:   twenty-five (25) speech therapy and nursing undergraduates participated in the study from public and private colleges located in southern Brazil. A thematic interview guide with open questions was used for data collection. Data organization and analysis followed the steps proposed by the technique of the Discourse of the Collective Subject, which uses four methodological figures - anchoring, central idea, key phrases and discourse of the collective subject.

RESULTS:   six central ideas and respective discourses emerged from the participants' accounts, which address aging and elders' care in a theoretical and practical view.

CONCLUSIONS:   undergraduates view aging as a natural process, however permeated by multidimensional modifications and changes. They point out that multiprofessional care is essential in elders' healthcare, however undergraduate education is neither specific nor sufficient for elderly-oriented professional practice.

Aging; Education, Higher; Nursing; Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences