Social support in elderly in the state of Hidalgo, Mexico

Abstract

Introduction: Social support are all those resources that a person has to satisfy their physical, mental and emotional needs. Elderly are people over 65 years of age and require social support networks, friends, family, neighbors, health services, among others, to feel protected, accepted and appreciated. Social support is essential during this stage for aging healthy and promote physical, affective and above all psychological needs. Objective: Determine the level of social support in elderly in the Community of Tlahuelilpan Hidalgo. Methodology: Study with a quantitative and descriptive approach with a cross-sectional and retrospective design, in which 135 elderly users of the health center, gerontological center and the community of Tlahuelilpan Hgo participated in the period June-July 2022. Through the application of the DUKE questionnaire -UNC, to measure social support with a validity of 0.90 Cronbach's alpha. Results: It was found that 87.2% have normal social support and 12.8% have low social support. Discussion: According to the study by Pelayo, Martínez and García in Querétaro, in 268 older adults it was found that 92.2% of the elderly present normal social support and 7.8% low social support. Therefore, normal social support continues to predominate. Conclusion: Social support is present at a normal level in older adults and is a fundamental part of the last stage of life, it allows satisfying needs, physical, emotional and psychological well-being.