The intersection of disability and aging often presents obstacles and discomfort for older people with disabilities keen to access mainstream opportunities for social participation. Besides individual situations and preferences – disability-based or not – environmental and social factors may limit full access to participation for older people with disabilities. Although ageist and ableist trends of contemporary ideas of aging have been documented, few studies have examined how those discourses are enacted in the field. In the context of participatory action research carried out since 2014 in a seniors’ leisure club, we conducted 14 individual interviews with volunteers and seven focus groups with 45 members in order to explore their personal experiences with impairments and disability within the club, whether members who develop impairments can continue to participate and whether prospective new members with different types of impairments would be welcomed. We used an interactionist framework inspired by Goffman’s work and based on the concept of stigma to analyze participants’ narratives. Results indicate that participation by members with disabilities is seen as unusual, disconcerting and disjunctive. Evidence exposes the stigmatizing practices, encompassing labeling, stereotyping, setting apart and dis- crimination against members with impairments. Their participation may be acceptable if it does not affect the normal course of activities; otherwise, stigmatizing discourses relegate them to the margins. Because stigma can have an overwhelming impact on the lives and social participation of older people with impairments, stake- holders’ awareness should be raised so they can understand it and intervene more effectively.

Objectives: To compare differences in depression, loneliness and personal well-being in a sample made up of indigenous (Aymara and Mapuche) and non-indigenous older people resident in original rural territories. Methods: A cross-sectional study involving 800 older adults living in a rural context in Chile, of whom 201 were Aymara, 368 Mapuche and 231 non-indigenous. Validated instruments were included for depression, loneliness and personal well-being (outcome variables). Ordinary least squares regression analyses were performed. Results: Membership of an indigenous group was significantly associated with lower scores for depression and loneliness and higher scores for personal well-being. The interactions of severe deprivation and housing deprivation with indigenous group membership were significantly associated with lower loneliness scores and higher personal well-being scores for Aymara and Mapuche participants. Discussion: Native rural settings and territories may offer a degree of protection to indigenous peoples. Cultural continuity enhanced by rural areas would produce a culturally constructed resilience against deprivation.

Recent evidence regarding the relationship between social support and depression in elderly people shows the important role of ethnicity. This research describes the characteristics of social support in a sample of elderly people aged 60 and above living in northern Chile (n = 493), and analyzes the differences in the relationship between social support and depression between an indigenous group (Aymara population, n = 147) and a nonindigenous group (white, Caucasian, mestizo, n = 346). Various dimensions of social support were considered: structural elements, functional social support according to source, and community participation. The results show the existence of significant differences in the characteristics and dimensions of social support depending on sex, ethnicity, and marital status. Further, the central role of the family group is observed for both Aymara and nonindigenous elderly people. The hierarchical regression models obtained result in notable differences in the role of the structural, functional, and community elements of support in explaining depression for the ethnic groups considered.

El cuidado comunitario es una buena defensa que tienen las mujeres mayores para resistir los embates de lo que ha significado una vida dedicada al cuidado de los demás: de sus hijos e hijas, de su marido, de sus nietos y nietas, de sus familiares. Esta atención hacia otras personas estructura la vida de las mujeres, condiciona sus tiempos, sus actividades, su participación en la sociedad. Los clubes proporcionan un espacio y un tiempo que las mujeres pueden dedicar a ellas mismas. Comparten actividades, vivencias, deseos y frustraciones; por unas horas abandonan su cotidianidad dedicada a los demás, para ser ellas las protagonistas.

Apresentamos uma revisão de estado da arte que situa os debates sobre cuidados nos países que atravessam processos demográficos de envelhecimento. O objetivo é aportar, a partir de uma perspectiva transversal de gênero, à formulação de políticas públicas que deem solução aos desafios da transição de demográfica em países como Chile. Revisaremos os debates sobre envelhecimento, suas dimensões
de gênero e o conceito de cuidados nas ciências sociais. Revisaremos, ademais, os estudos sobre as necessidades de cuidado das pessoas idosas, analisando o papel da família, Estado, comunidade e mercado
na atenção destas demandas sociais. Finalizaremos discutindo pontos críticos a ser considerados para a planificação de políticas públicas vinculadas ao tema.

Presentamos un estudio de caso etnográfico realizado entre 2016 y 2017 junto a mujeres mayores que participaban de talleres de tejido y bordado en un centro comunitario de la Comuna de Providencia (Región Metropolitana, Chile). La investigación indagaba sobre las prácticas, saberes y significados articulados a través de las relaciones de cuidado entre mujeres pertenecientes a sectores sociales de estratificación mediana y alta. Nuestro objetivo fue comprender cómo la vejez era vivida por estas mujeres; y cuáles estrategias comunitarias, personales y familiares desarrollaban para hacer frente a los desafíos y posibilidades del envejecimiento. Para abordar nuestros resultados, partimos por describir en la segunda sección la metodología del estudio y por sintetizar, en la tercera sección, los debates sobre género y envejecimiento en las ciencias sociales. En la cuarta sección, describimos el contexto de Providencia en sus aspectos sociodemográficos, económicos, en sus políticas públicas destinadas a la población mayor. En la quinta y sextas secciones, adentrando en nuestra experiencia etnográfica feminista, retomaremos los relatos de las mujeres sobre los cuidados y las articulaciones políticas que permean sus vidas. Finalizamos con reflexiones que, a luz de los datos etnográficos, redimensionan y expanden algunas de las contribuciones específicas de los debates teóricos actuales

Presentamos un estado del arte sobre los estudios del envejecimiento femenino en las ciencias sociales anglófonas e hispanohablantes, indagando cómo las mujeres mayores fueron representadas en estas investigaciones y buscando captar las contribuciones del feminismo a estos estudios. Revisaremos la emergencia de los debates gerontológicos sobre el envejecimiento (1950-1970) y la influencia de los posicionamientos feministas en los trabajos sociológicos y antropológicos sobre el tema (1970-1990). Discutiremos los giros hacia la confluencia entre género y edad en los estudios sociales (1990-2000) y la contribución crítica latinoamericana en castellano, articulada alrededor del concepto de organización social de los cuidados (2000-2010). En las consideraciones finales, ofreceremos nuestras reflexiones sobre la construcción de una perspectiva feminista en los estudios del envejecimiento femenino.

En Chile, el incremento de la población mayor ha suscitado inquietud por conocer su grado de bienestar el cual se encuentra impactado por múltiples categorías de diferenciación social (nivel socioeconómico, género, etnia). En el presente artículo se exponen resultados procedentes de una investigación antropológica, cuyo objetivo ha consistido en comprender cómo el acceso al bienestar de las mujeres mayores de sectores populares está impactado por el lugar que ha ocupado en sus vidas el trabajo de cuidado y el trabajo remunerado. A través de los relatos de vida de 9 mujeres mayores de la comuna de Independencia –Santiago de Chile-, se muestra cómo gracias a la ayuda de las mujeres de la familia, han podido articular el trabajo de cuidado y el trabajo remunerado a lo largo de sus vidas, y cómo lo continúan haciendo también en la vejez. Entre los resultados, se destaca que naturalizar esta gestión del trabajo de cuidado y trabajo remunerado en las mujeres, implica desconocer el tiempo que las mujeres han invertido en ello a lo largo de sus vidas y, en consecuencia, comprender por qué su bienestar cuando son mayores, se encuentra impactado por ese cúmulo de responsabilidades.

O presente estudo analisa as diferenças nos distintos domí- nios daThe present study analyses differences in Quality of Life (QOL) in their different domains among indigenous and non-indigenous older persons in Chile. The sample was made up of 777 older Chilean people, including 232 indige- nous (Aymara) participants. The WHOQOL-BREF scale was used. Data were processed with standard statistical tests (chi square and Student ́s t-test). Significant differences were found in the QOL domains according to ethnicity. Non-indig- enous older persons felt pain more often than Aymaras (16vs 9%), needed more medical treatment (24 vs 13%). In the social relationships domain, non-indigenous participants were more satisfied than the indigenous group with personal rela- tionships (63 vs 50%) and with social support from friends (45 vs 33%). Non-indigenous participants reported a higher level of satisfaction with living and household conditions (64 vs 55%) and with social and healthcare services (59 vs 47%). The relevance of ethnicity for QOL is addressed using the WHOQoL-BREF. Social inequalities related to ethnicity could help to explain the findings.

Objectives: The aim of this study is to analyse the process of successful ageing in older persons who state their belonging to a native Chilean ethnic group. There has recently been a notable increase in interest regarding analysis of the cultural processes and variables associated with successful ageing. However, there is a lack of studies analysing successful ageing in native ethnic groups; that is, ethnic communities living in their natural environmental surroundings.
Methods: A cross-sectional research design was used. The sample was composed by 232 indigenous Aymara persons aged over 60 years who live in the far north of Chile. Data were collected using a questionnaire made up of validated measurement scales for successful ageing, community support, quality of life, religiousness/spirituality, and health.
Results: The results suggest that indigenous persons age successfully, particularly in the context of physical functionality. Successful ageing is positively related with community integration, social support from informal systems (social groups), quality of life, and religiousness (forgiveness). In contrast, successful ageing is negatively related with depression.
Conclusions: Cultural practices and an active lifestyle are ethnic cultural resources enabling persons to successfully cope with ageing. The results suggest that interventions would benefit from incorporating actions within a context of community integration. Particular attention to preventing deterioration in mental health would help to foster a successful ageing process.