Evaluation of a health promotion project at the Elderly People's Care Center: an exploratory study

Health promotion evaluation among elderly people is an emerging topic because of the expansion of programs driven by the aging of the population. Here, data from an exploratory assessment of a health promotion project at the Elderly People's Care Center of the Elderly People's Open University, Rio de Janeiro State University are presented. The study was guided by analysis on how the project was implemented and was based on documentary sources, revaluation of the elderly people and participant observation. It was observed that the objectives of socialization and discussion of information, enhancement of self-esteem and expansion of social contacts were attained. In the revaluation, small changes in self-care, health and subjective wellbeing indicators were seen, thus inferring that the participants' profile was positive and stable. It is concluded that the project contributed towards reorientation of health practices aimed at comprehensive care, grounded in humanization and strengthening of individuals' participation in issues that affect individual and collective health and wellbeing.