POPULATION AGING AND SOCIOECONOMIC INEQUALITIES: CHALLENGES TO LONG-TERM CARE AND LONG-TERM CARE FACILITIES FOR THE ELDERLY IN BRAZIL
Maria Eduarda Klosowski Petró
Accountant, State University of the Center-West of Paraná
(UNICENTRO), Prudentópolis, Paraná, Brazil, E-mail: mariaklosowski3@gmail.com
Telma Regina Stroparo
PhD in Geography, State University of Central-West (UNICENTRO), Irati, Paraná,
Brazil. Email: telma@unicentro.br
Mônica Aparecida Bortolotti
PhD in Public Policy, State University of Paraná
(UNESPAR), Campo Mourão, Paraná, Brazil. Email: monica.bortolotti@unespar.edu.br
ABSTRACT
With the objective of analyzing how
population aging in Brazil reshapes the demand for Long-Term Care Institutions
for Older Adults (Instituições de Longa Permanência para Idosos – ILPIs) and
imposes new challenges on systems of long-term protection and care, this
article is methodologically classified as a scoping review with a qualitative
and theoretical-analytical approach, articulated with documentary research and
guided by a critical socio-structural perspective. The results indicate that
the country is undergoing an accelerated demographic transition: the proportion
of individuals aged 65 years or older increased from 3.2% in 1970 to 10.9% in
2022, while the aging index rose from 7.7% to 55.1%. Projections suggest that,
from 2029 onward, the number of older adults will surpass that of children,
evidencing the consolidation of population aging. However, this process occurs
in a profoundly unequal manner across socioeconomic strata: middle- and
high-income households present aging indices above 200%, whereas groups living
in extreme poverty do not reach 20%, revealing distinct trajectories in terms
of health, labor participation, life expectancy, and family caregiving
capacity. Furthermore, the low participation of older adults in the labor
force—accounting for 19.7% of the working-age population but only 7.8% of the
economically active population—heightens the risks of dependence and premature
institutionalization.
Keywords: Aging. Long-Term Care Institutions. Socioeconomic Inequalities. Social Protection.
Reviewed by Current Scientific Journal
on
fevereiro 13, 2026
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