O envelhecimento populacional traz consigo uma série de desafios que exigem a atenção de todos, principalmente do Estado no que tange a implementação de políticas públicas. Diante disso, o presente estudo tem como objetivo levantar a temática da feminização da velhice, um fenômeno resultante da transição demográfica, no qual o número de mulheres com idade maior ou igual à 60 anos se sobressai ao contingente masculino. Trata-se de um ensaio teórico realizado através de levantamento bibliográfico traçando aspectos biopsicossocias que circundam a realidade das idosas. Evidencia-se que diante à feminização da velhice a variável gênero atua como fator determinante, tornando-se necessário estudos que voltem-se para tal realidade e busquem alternativas que possam solucionar desfechos negativos enfrentados pelas mulheres idosas.

Trends in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Review ArticleResumo Objetivo: Realizar uma revisão sistemática de artigos publicados que avaliam atitudes implícitas em relação ao idoso de profissionais de saúde e estudantes de cursos de graduação da área da saúde. Método: A pesquisa foi realizada nos bancos de dados PsycINFO, PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus e LILACS, buscando artigos relevantes publicados em inglês, português e espanhol. Foram utilizados os seguintes operadores booleanos: implicit attitude AND (elderly OR aged OR older people). Foram selecionados 7 artigos. Resultado: A maioria dos estudos selecionados foi realizada em países desenvolvidos e relatou uma atitude negativa em relação aos idosos. Indivíduos do sexo masculino apresentaram mais atitude negativa que os do sexo feminino. Conclusão: Os artigos analisados nesta revisão mostram que a atitude negativa em relação ao público idoso está implicitamente presente entre os profissionais e estudantes da área da saúde. Descritores: Atitude implícita; profissional da saúde; estudante da saúde; idoso. AbstractObjective: To perform a systematic review of articles evaluating implicit attitudes of health professionals and undergraduate students in the health field toward the elderly. Methods: The PsycINFO, PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus and LILACS databases were searched for relevant articles published in English, Portuguese and Spanish using the following search terms: implicit attitude AND (elderly OR aged OR older people). Seven articles were selected. Results: The majority of studies were conducted in developed countries and found negative attitudes toward the elderly, with males exhibiting more negative attitudes than females. Conclusion: The articles analyzed in this review demonstrate an implicitly negative attitude among professionals and students in the field of health toward the elderly.

To analyse factors associated with affective and cognitive empathy in informal and formal caregivers of older people. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 111 formal and informal caregivers divided into three groups (lower, intermediate and higher empathy) based on the Multidimensional Interpersonal Reactivity Index score (total, affective and cognitive empathy). A sociodemographic questionnaire, the Zarit Burden Inventory, Patient Health Questionnaire-9 and Functional Assessment Questionnaire were applied. Results:The participants were predominantly women (91%), and median [IQR] age was 46 [33-57] years. In the multinomial regression analysis being an informal caregiver, being older and having depressive symptoms were associated with higher levels of empathy (total score and the affective domain). No associations were found for the cognitive domain.Conclusions: A high level of empathy, especially affective empathy, was associated with depressive symptoms, older age and being an informal caregiver. Family relationships and the lack of training among informal caregivers should be explored.

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Objective: This study aimed to investigate factors associated with empathy and identify instruments used to measure this ability in professionals and students in the health field. Method: A systematic review was performed. Searches were conducted on the PsycINFO, PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases using the keywords "empathy" and "health professional". We selected 29 articles published in English, with no restriction imposed regarding the year of publication. Results: Based on the findings of the articles selected, sociodemographic factors (female gender, being married, being older, having siblings, and having children) are associated with higher levels of empathy. Professional experience (years of practice) and being on the final years of the course also contributed to higher levels of empathy. Different versions of the Jefferson Scale of Empathy were the most prevalent assessment tools employed in the different studies. Conclusion: The articles analyzed describe several factors that influence the level of empathy among health professionals and students. Thus, future studies should take sociodemographic factors into account when evaluating levels of empathy in this population.