A organização do cuidador de idoso dependente de cuidados com alta hospitalar

Abstract

Aging of the population is an increasing reality in Brazil, and this process may elevate the number of disabling and non - communicable chronic diseas es among seniors, with possible alterations to their physical, cognitive and emotional dependency, which leads to demanding permanent care from family members. The situation of caregiving becomes more complex when the senior goes through a period of worsen ing of health conditions, resulting in hospital admittance and a dependency on homecare later on. The objective of this study was to describe the organization of caregivers , family or not, members of seniors who require care after a hospital discharge. It is a qualitative research with 11 family members and/or caregivers of frail elderly admitted to Hospital Universitário de Santa Maria, located in central Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, and which is a teaching hospital that develops educational actions, as well as research and health care. The data collection took place from September 2015 to January 2016, by means of semi - structured interviews. The data was analyzed according to Minayo's operative proposal. From the data analysi, the characterization of caregiv ers and care - dependent seniors is presented; also presented are the three thematic categories that emerged from the testimonies: the caregiver and the organization of the elderly frail care; difficulties faced by the caregiver for achieving hospital discha rge of the care - dependent senior; and strategies used by the caregiver to achieve hospital discharge of aforementioned senior. Among the difficulties faced, it is noted that some are related to new family structures which have a reflection on family suppor t. Other difficulties are due to the families' economical conditions, the frailty of public policies, which assign the responsibility of care to the families, and the scarcity of support services to the caregivers, facing the seniors' situation of dependen cy. Furthermore, the care is many times up to one single person, generating stress and overload. Also, sometimes, the designated caregiver does not feel prepared to fulfill the tasks of caring. Despite the difficulties, some families find strategies to ful fill said tasks: to some, the support of Home Care Service helps; others reach out to family members; and some opt for the senior's institutionalization. In that sense, it is important for health professionals to acknowledge the diversity that the aging pr ocess represents, comprising the difficulties that caregivers face when organizing hospital discharge of the frail elderly. In Brazil, a public policy specifically directed to frail elderly is not envisioned, the ones regarding this public delegate to the family the first, and nearly only, option of care. From the results it is noted that there is a disparity between responsibilities attributed to the family and service support that should be offered by existing public policies. That topic must be discussed and given more visibility, since the revaluation of the family within public policies could mean a hindrance of State responsibilities concerning meeting the needs of the population.