Enfermagem de família: o enfrentamento de famílias cuidadoras de idoso com doença de Alzheimer

Abstract

Alzheimer's is a neurodegenerative disease that causes the decline of cognitive functions, reducing physical and social abilities, interfering in behavior and personality. With the evolution of the picture, Alzheimer's causes a great impact on the daily life of the person becoming more and more dependent on the help of family members. This study had as objective To know the ways of functioning of caregiver families who experience the coexistence of the care of the elderly person affected by Alzheimer's disease, in the domestic sphere. METHODOLOGICAL DESCRIPTION: A descriptive study with a qualitative approach, used as a theoretical and methodological reference point, the Calgary Family Assessment Model. It was developed in the city of Belém-PA, in a reference hospital in geriatrics. The study included 08 families of elderly people diagnosed with Alzheimer's who were being treated at the outpatient clinic of the João de Barros Barreto University Hospital. The semistructured interview technique was used, whose sessions were written in full and drawn (genogram), avoiding the loss or misrepresentation of the information. The analysis of thematic content was carried out in the light of the Calgary Family Assessment Model in three categories: structural, developmental and functional evaluation, presented through the Genogram and Ecomapa through the statements of each family interviewed. RESULTS: From the experiences of caring for the elderly with Alzheimer's, we found that families experienced significant changes and problems of various magnitudes that compromised some relationships in the internal and external structure of families. The Calgary Family Assessment Model allowed us to observe a scientific and systematic structure, through its family assessment categories, because it helped us gather information, which subsidized us in the construction of the Genogram and Ecomapa in a way that allowed us a more structure of the family structure. Conclusion: We concluded that the objective of the research was achieved, since the elderly and their family members require a qualified and systematized assistance in order to enable paths that favor feelings of hope, safety before treatment and, consequently, aiming a satisfactory prognosis. we emphasize the need for new studies related to the family of the elderly with Alzheimer, especially the applicability of the Calgary Family Intervention Model (MCIF), in order to deepen and enable new dimensions, providing to family nursing new collaborations of great scientific relevance.