Medicalization of Elderly Females and Interaction with Consumption of Tranquilizers

• Published in: Saúde e sociedade 2008-04, Vol.17 (2), p.95-106
• Main Authors: Mendonca, Reginaldo Teixeira, Carvalho, Antonio Carlos Duarte de, Vieira, Elisabeth Meloni, Adorno, Rubens de Camargo Ferreira
• Format: Article
• Language: Portuguese
• Subjects: Elderly; Females; Medicine
• ISSN: 0104-1290
• DOI: 10.1590/S0104-12902008000200010

In this study we researched into the interaction between gender, aging & partitularized consumption of tranquilizers (benzodiazepines), aiming to understand how, within the process of medicalization of society, this interaction interferes in the way of using & in conceptions about tranquilizers, & how they are (re)signified by their consumers. In the study, semistructured interviews with 18 elderly females were performed & a qualitative approach was used in the analysis of the collected data. These women belonged to low-income classes in the city of Ribeirao Preto (state of Sao Paulo). They were psychiatric patients assisted in the public outpatient Clinic of the Mental Health Nucleus of the Health Teaching Centre at the Ribeirao Preto Medical School, University of Sao Paulo (FMRP-USP). We observed that the consumption of tranquilizers is intensified among elderly females, as they begin to deal with conflicts & daily matters by using medications. As the elderly females have been attending the health services for several years, the psychiatric ones among them, they manage to incorporate knowledge & experiences about the use of tranquilizers, promoting their diffusion in the social circle. References. Adapted from the source document.