Statute of the Elderly: analysis of the factors associated with awareness of the statute among the elderly Brazilian population

Abstract The scope of this article is to analyze the factors associated with awareness of the Statute of the Elderly by the non-institutionalized Brazilian population aged 60 years and older. It involves a cross-sectional and exploratory study, which used data from the Longitudinal Study of Health of Elderly Brazilians (ELSI-Brasil) conducted in 2015 and 2016. Statistical analysis was assessed by means of the chi-square test and with the use of binary logistic models. Awareness of the Statute of the Elderly was higher among the better educated elderly group (OR: 3.17; 95%CI: 2.19-4.60), those belonging to the highest quartile of the wealth index (OR: 2.96; 95%CI: 2.00-4.38), and among those who suffered discrimination based on age (OR: 1.73; 95%CI: 1.39-2.16). On the other hand, being 80 years old or older (OR: 0.59; 95%CI: 0.43-0.82) and having less communication with their children (OR: 0.56; 95%CI: 0.43-0.74) is associated with lesser awareness of this legislation. Many inequalities in awareness of the legislation, especially socioeconomic inequalities, were observed, revealing that awareness of established rights is not homogeneous. Awareness of the entire population regarding the prerogatives of the Statute of the Elderly is essential for advances in its applicability and effectiveness.