ABSTRACT
This is a cross-sectional study which aimed to characterize chronic pain in elderly residents in the town of Cruzaltense/RS, in order to show its influence in their daily life and in social life. The sample comprised 48 old elderly people. Data collection was done through the application of a questionnaire with closed questions. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. From the total sample, 56.25% referred chronic pain, being 16 females and 11 males, whose ages ranged from 60 to 83, average of 71.5; 81,5% presented some pathology with medical diagnosis. There was a predominance of married elderly (55.5%), although the percentage of widows is 40.7%. Regarding the occupation of these people, 92.6% were agriculturists. The places with most prevalent pain were: lumbar and cervical spine, legs, knee joints and superior members. The intensity of pain, according to the Visual Numeric Scale (VNS), varied from 1 to 10. Regarding the type of pain, they highlighted: feeling of pain, burning, throbbing, lacerating and intense. These events can occur daily, eventually or associated with any sort of effort. Pain is among the main factors that limit the possibility of the elderly to keep their everyday normally, with a negative impact on the elderly's quality of life, somehow damaging the accomplishment of daily activities, as well as restraining social life, even leading to isolation.
Key words:
Aged; Pain Measurement; Nursing; Cross-Sectional Studies; Quality of Life