ABSTRACT
Objectives:
to understand the self-care process of community-dwelling older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods:
this is an explanatory study with a qualitative approach based on the constructivist Grounded Theory, carried out with 18 community-dwelling older adults. Data collection took place through interviews and content was analyzed through initial and focused coding.
Results:
two categories were obtained: “Building connections to support self-care practices” and “Living with the risk group stigma”. From their interaction, the phenomenon “Performing self-care in old age during the COVID-19 pandemic” emerged.
Final Considerations:
it was possible to identify how older adults’ experiences curing the COVID-19 pandemic had repercussions on their self-care process, being influenced by factors such as information about the disease and the impacts of risk group stigmas.
Descriptors:
Self Care; COVID-19; Aged; Primary Prevention; Public Health Nursing.