Research of the Health, Aging, and Society Laboratory

This chapter describes the work being done in North-East Brazil to clarify how social issues are constructed and reconstructed in processes driven by the values, symbols, and patterns that characterize the area’s social and cultural spaces. Aging, but also care, quality of life, and work are studied, analyzing them in the process of their naturalization guided by daily communication and practices. The Lab at the Federal University of Paraiba (UFPB), in Joao Pessoa, also draws on contributions from other areas of Brazil (especially Rio de Janeiro) and focuses mainly on studying the aging process. Its work is guided by principles of interprofessionalization in the field of gerontology, especially in its critical advancements. The Aging Institute founded at the UFPB (the first in the whole country) aims to combine research and a third mission, exploiting the potential of social representations theory for engaged research.