PATIENT SAFETY AND ADVERSE EVENTS IN THE CONTEXT OF HEALTH CARE FOR THE ELDERLY

Patient safety has been a major target for discussion and concern due to the impact that adverse events can have on the quality of health care. The elderly tends to be a public susceptible to a higher prevalence of adverse events related to health care due to multimorbidity, greater care complexity, high use of health services and a higher prevalence of hospitalizations. In view of this, this study aims to analyze the main adverse events and the context of patient safety in health care for the elderly. It is a qualitative, descriptive study of the theoretical-reflective type developed from the narrative review approach with national and international scientific articles. It is concluded that the current scientific literature indicates that the theme is necessary and, at the same time, recent and innovative. In addition, there are knowledge gaps, especially from developing countries, particularly about the health of the elderly.