Estratégias de enfrentamento e autocuidado para pessoas idosas com diabetes mellitus tipo 2 no contexto rural e ribeirinho : revisão integrativa

Abstract

The study analyzed self-care practices and coping strategies among elderly people with type 2 diabetes mellitus living in rural and riverside communities in Brazil. This is an integrative literature review conducted in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and the Virtual Health Library databases, using controlled descriptors combined by the boolean operators AND and OR. Four Brazilian studies published between 2015 and 2025 were included. Self-care was conditioned by socioeconomic, cultural, and geographical factors. The most frequent practices were regular medication use and foot care, while healthy eating, physical activity, and blood glucose monitoring showed low adherence. The main coping strategies involved family and community support, medicinal plants, religiosity, and multiprofessional monitoring, especially by nurses and community health agents. It is concluded that self-care among elderly people with diabetes in riverside areas depends on the integration between traditional knowledge and institutional support, requiring public policies that expand access and health education.