Implicações osteomusculares vivenciadas por idosos cuidadores no domicílio

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: The continuous and dense character, which characterizes the assistance to the person with compromised functional capacity, points to the relevance of investigating the illness of the caregivers elderly. OBJECTIVE: To know the implications related to the musculoskeletal system experienced by caregivers elderly of relatives with impaired functional capacity. METHODOLOGY: This is a descriptive, exploratory research with a qualitative approach, linked to the matrix project "Caregivers elderly in the care of the others at home: intervening in the overload of care". It consisted of the domicile of caregivers elderly of people registered in medical records, attended at one of the bases of the "Best Home" of the Federal Government in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. The data collected happened by a semi-structured interview, from March to June 2017. The data were systematized through the Content Analysis proposed by Bardin. The project was approved by the Research Ethics Committee under Advice No. 1,762,501 of October 10, 2016. Six caregivers elderly of people with compromised functional capacity, aged between 60 and 79 years, participated in the study, and only one did not present any implication of the care for their musculoskeletal health. RESULTS: The participants' speeches emerged in three categories: Care-related musculoskeletal pain; Osteomuscular pain related to the somatization of the lived feeling; and Commitment of self-care by virtue of caring for others. CONCLUSION: The study revealed that caregivers elderly of dependent people develop compromises in the musculoskeletal system, such as tendonitis, arthrosis and low back pain, which are associated with care tasks; the somatization of constant concern with the family; and self-care deficit. It also warns of the relevance of encouraging self-care actions that can be carried out at the household level.