Older adults: The family as a social network in poverty reduction in colombia

This research seeks to describe the actions of the family social network and its influence on the reduction of poverty in the elderly, highlighting the support they receive, be it material, instrumental, cognitive or emotional. The development of the research was of a qualitative order, with a phenomenological design, relating both the elderly and the members of the support network. The data collection technique used was the semi-structured interview, which sought to bring the researcher closer to the social and cultural conditions where older adults live, all of them in an age range between 60 and 90 years old, belonging to strata one and two. in the cities of Bogota and Medellin. The results allowed to identify the actions of the family social network, as well as the emotional relationship that occurs directly with the family, especially with the children who carry out actions aimed at strengthening the possible instrumental and emotional support to meet the basic needs of the elderly. The research also manages to highlight the labor barriers, the lack of access to a pension allowance and the different obstacles they face to access programs for the elderly.