[Time use in the daily life of aged women: an indicative method of the life style of population groups].

Time use research analyzes the multi-factorial aspects of aging. The purpose of this research was to describe time use within a group of 75 elderly women, 68,04 +/- 8,36 years old, based on their daily activities from waking up to going to sleep. The instruments used in the study were a cognition test (Clock Completion Test), a questionnaire for obtaining personal data and structured interviews (Time Diary) for obtaining information about the activities carried out on the day prior to the interview. The daily activities were decoded and classified by means of an international classification for time use studies, thus obtaining the profiles of the daily activities assigned to nine groups of main activities and their physical and social contexts. It was verified that the greater part of time was spent with mandatory activities (housework and personal care). Most of the free time was spent with passive leisure (TV watching) and little physical activity. Most of the activities were performed at home (physical context), and the elderly women used to live either with members of their family or alone (social context). Individual factors such as age, gender, educational level, marital status and socioeconomic level probably play a role in the time use patterns found.