Adultos mayores que viven en hogares unipersonales en el contexto del Covid-19 : historias de vida de 4 adultos mayores de Puerto Quito y Morona, durante el año 2020 - 2021.

Abstract

The subject of this research study is "Older adults living in one-person households in the context of Covid-19: Life stories of 4 older adults from Puerto Quito and Morona, during the year 2020" through which it seeks to analyze the living conditions of Older Adults who live alone through the stories and experiences in the confinement time at the time of health crisis, to know the self-perception of the quality of life through the realities experienced, revealing the reasons why they do not have a family member within their home and what were those support networks that they sustained during the pandemic. O reach the objective; Erickson's life cycle theory is used with the important contributions that Baltes makes to it. On the other hand, the ecological theory of Bronfenbrenner is considered, which allowed us to know the interactions in the micro, meso and macro systems of the elderly. The research is carried out under a qualitative approach, of an applied descriptive level. With a non-probabilistic selection sample at convenience. The sample is made up of 4 older adults from two parishes, 3 men and a woman, whose age range belongs to 77 to 89 years. The techniques applied were the in-depth and semi-structured interview. Among the situations that have led the elderly to live alone, we find that having grown up with their parents influenced the idea of a couple that they still have from their family of origin and their fear of failure. There is also the fear of the abandonment of the couple since it was reflected to be one of the main reasons why two of them did not consider among their options to build or rebuild a new type of family after the break with their sentimental ex-partner, in which There is still a certain type of resentment, observing at this point a decline in the interest in renewal of these family networks due to the lack of motivation and bad experiences lived in their first home. At this stage of the life cycle, two interviewees maintain markedly reduced relationships with the microsystem, family, this being a substantial detail in times of crisis. From these results we can state that this social network does not fulfill the main role of protection in any of the dimensions: care, affection, resource provider, etc. Where the feeling of loneliness is manifested in an abstract way that has prevented the connection and enjoyment of interpersonal relationships within this system. From a broader perspective, such as community networks, this constituted a crucial support in a context surrounded by needs of all kinds: food, health, affection, etc. For this reason, it implies identifying how this network responded to the circumstance and pandemic situation. Finally, this pandemic has revealed fragile and discouraging scenarios in general in the elderly, however, in this category, we have been able to show that community networks are relatively strengthened and committed to the vulnerable population. It has provided support in one way or another that, from the interviewees' own perspective, has been a source of sustenance in this time of health crisis, where the basic needs of food, accompaniment, health, etc., were on the rise and where Without a doubt, they would not have been able to cope if this network made up of neighbors and friends had not provided them with the support they received, defining from this construct, satisfaction and wellbeing in the lives of these 3 interviewees from the last stage of the life cycle.