Resumo:
The informational need is inherent to life and the process of searching for knowledge. The identification of information gaps about maturity by women who experience this stage and the information behavior adopted by them are relevant issues for Information Science. This research deals with the identification of informational needs related to maturity for women who experience this phase of life. The study aimed to identify the informational needs about maturity for women UFBA employees working at the University Hospital, who go through this period, and as specific objectives: a) characterize women, between 35 and 59 years old, UFBA employees working at the hospital university; b) present the informational content about maturity reported by them, and c) describe information, the information search and the sources used by women. This is a descriptive research, which used a questionnaire sent to the electronic address as a data collection instrument. The field investigated was the University Hospital linked to UFBA. The universe was made up of 219 servers, who fit the defined profile. The sample investigated was made up of 21 female respondents, employees working at this hospital institution. Using Bardin's Content Analysis technique, the collected data was organized into three categories: women's profile, informational content about maturity, and information, informational search and sources accessed. The results showed that the majority of women are between 46 and 54 years old, are married, have children, have a higher education degree with an occupation in the health sector, are mixed-race, Catholic, practice physical activity, have a chronic illness and have a family income. higher than four minimum wages. Most recognize maturity as a period of changes and transformations with impacts on physical and mental health, with the climacteric and menopause as signs of this transition in a woman's life. Most of them define information as data and they all seek information, mainly about health. The most accessed sources are the internet and newspapers, and they meet the informational needs of servers. From the results, it is concluded that there are information gaps about maturity related not only to this phase of life but also to many other issues pertinent to the moment experienced.
