Population aging refers to the change in the age structure of the population, which
produces an increase in the number of people above a certain age, considered as defining
the onset of old age, in Brazil people aged 60 years or more. The aging phenomenon is
marked by alterations in neurodegenerative processes that cause substantial changes in
sensory, auditory, and visual functions, besides decreasing motor control. In addition to
the deleterious effects of time on the body, we also witness lifestyle as a determining
factor for the onset of these diseases. Sedentary lifestyles at all stages of life, but
especially in old age, are recognized as a public health problem because of their negative
effect on health. Health education is a practice for the transformation of individuals'
lifestyles, promoting quality of life and health. In this sense, previous studies have shown
that this strategy is effective when used with the elderly to mitigate the impacts caused by
aging and improve lifestyle. The objective of this dissertation is to verify the impact of
health education workshops for the promotion of physical activity and self-care in the
elderly. Eighteen elderly individuals enrolled in the Universidade da Maturidade were
included in the study. After the application of questionnaires for identification and
socioeconomic characterization, they were submitted to a pre-test with the self-care
evaluation form using the Assessment of Self-Care Capacity Scale (ASA-A); cognitive
screening was measured using the MEMM: Mini-Mental Astate Examination, to assess
the level of physical activity the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ-Q)
was used, and to measure the level of health literacy the SAHLPA-18 (Short Assessment
of Health Literacy) was used. The educational intervention was developed through health
education workshops with a main focus on physical activity promotion and self-care. The
post-test evaluation showed a positive and significant result (P=0.03) for the improvement
in the engagement of the elderly in self-care with health. We conclude that the health
education workshops enabled an improvement in the self-care of the elderly. We suggest
that further studies should evaluate this methodology in larger populations, with different
characteristics and for a longer period. We believe that health education workshops can
be a tool for self-care in the health of the elderly.
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