Envelhecimento, direito à saúde e desospitalização: desafios da atenção à pessoa idosa no contexto hospitalar

Abstract

This study aims to understand the aging process in capitalist society, taking into account the dynamics of exploitation and marginalization of the elderly population. Drawing on the Marxist concept of labor, it analyzes how the exploitation of the workforce throughout one’s productive life shapes the ways in which people age, resulting in different experiences of old age. The study examines the trajectory of Brazilian social policies aimed at the elderly population and scrutinizes the health care provided to aging individuals in the context of hospital admission, with an emphasis on the processes of hospitalization and dehospitalization. The methodology combines bibliographic research, documentary analysis, and personal accounts. The discussion on dehospitalization was based on an analysis of scientific publications in the Proceedings of the Brazilian Congress of Social Workers (CBAS) from 2022 and 2025. In its concluding remarks, the study emphasizes that aging in Brazil mirrors social inequalities, and that hospital care for older adults reflects the tensions between the universal right to health and the impositions of capitalist logic.