Institutionalization of elderly and family care: Perspectives of professionals from long term facilities

Abstract

Objective: to identify the family care provided to institutionalized elderly people, perceived by professionals from Long Term Care Institutions for the Elderly. Method: descriptive and exploratory study with a qualitative approach, developed with 41 professionals. Data collection took place from May 2017 to January 2018, with individual semi-structured interviews. To organize the data analysis process, the Atlas.ti software was used, whose content was submitted to Bardin’s discourse analysis. Results: the perceptions that emerged from the speeches of the participating professionals about institutionalization originated from current and lived experiences. The presence or absence of the family was linked to care relationships, with a distinction of perceptions among professionals from different institutions. Conclusion: it was observed that family care, as personal experiences for professionals, was significant to build perceptions about the institutionalization of the elderly and the family member as a caregiver.