[Nonverbal communication between nurses and the elderly based on the proxemics]

The aim is to analyze the nonverbal communication between nurses and the elderly in the nursing consultation based on the theory by Hall. The research concerns a descriptive exploratory study and it has a quantitative approach. It took place through filmings of the nursing consultations which happened in Health Basic Units in João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil, observed every minute, a total of 1.575 nonverbal interactions. The analysis has showed the predominance of the female nurses (90.63%) and the elderly (65.63) and a regular classification for most of the factors as a prevalence of a sitting set (80.09), opposite chairs (64.46%), personal distance (91.40%), calm facial expression (59.78%), touch was used for a technical procedure (53.33%), visual interaction for the manipulation of the objects (57.69) and no alteration in the voice volume (48.79%). These results reflect the necessity of the nurses to domain consciously their corporal and facial manifestations in order to improve the interaction with the elderly.