Introduction:

Population aging imposes the need to provide quality and specialized health services, as well as adequate psychological and social support to promote the well-being of the elderly.

Objective:

To characterize the meaning of life in semi-institutionalized elderly people in the city of Santa Clara, Cuba.

Methods:

A qualitative approach with a phenomenological design was assumed. The in-depth interview, the Direct and Indirect Method Activity Record and the PIL Questionnaire were used as techniques. The data were processed through content analysis and data triangulation.

Results:

As main results, it is pointed out that, in the elderly participants, limitations were seen in the dimensions experiences of meaning, goals and tasks and the destination-freedom dialectic.

Discussion:

The sense of life in the participating elderly people was configured around health, social and family contacts, their own goals, the need for transcendence, freedom, happiness and participation. The absence of meaning was associated with the lack of a specific objective, the inability to pass on their knowledgement and life experiences; as well as leading a routine life.

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