Abstract
Every Brazilian story, to favor public policies of protection and integration of the elderly in society, apparently presents a gap. The objective of this research was to identify the social representations of counselors on the municipal council of the elderly. Thirty – six members of Municipal Councils for the Rights of the Elderly (CMDI) participated in four municipalities in the western region of Greater São Paulo, both sexes, aged between 20 and 80 years. For data collection, a sociodemographic questionnaire and a semi-structured interview were used. Data were analyzed by the Descending Hierarchical Classification, with the support of the Interface Software of R pour analyses Multidimensionnelles de Textes et de Questionnaires (IRAMUTEQ). The results pointed out that the participants’ main concern was related to violations of the rights of the elderly. It was still possible to identify that their representations are based on the dynamics and the guidelines for action in the CMDI. It was considered that although the CMDI advisors have the function of supervising and regularizing effective public policies for the elderly population, they find it difficult to exercise the full capacity of the counselor.
Public Policy; Social Representation; Old Age
