Representações sociais de cuidadores formais de idosos institucionalizados sobre o envelhecimento

Abstract

Population aging is increasingly experienced in the world. The social transformations that have occurred in the last decades have made the provision of services for older people more frequent, such as Long-Term Care Institutions for Elderly (LTCE) as an alternative of care. Formal caregivers are located within the formal support network, working both in institutions and at homes. This research aimed to study the conceptions of formal caregivers by the elderly about aging based on the Theory of Social Representations. It was intended to understand a practical dimension of the representations of this caregivers in LTCEs, based on twenty in-depth interviews. The data were analyzed with the aid of the IRAMUTEQ program, by which it took place Lexical Analysis and Descending Hierarchical Classification. The results pointed out for SR on aging that emphasize physical dependence, losts and passivity in the face of the aging process, which is seen as something extrinsic and dependent on the will of God. Aging, which is often confused with old age (stage of life) was also understood from the opposition with youth. Such representations are linked to guardianship practices aimed at the institutionalized elderly, whose notion of care is anchored in the care of a child.