Eficácia de uma tecnologia educativa na redução de sintomas musculoesqueléticos em cuidadores domiciliares de pessoas idosas: estudo piloto de ensaio clínico randomizado

Abstract

To test the effectiveness of an educational technology in reducing musculoskeletal symptoms perceived by home caregivers of elderly people. Methodology: Pilot randomized, single-blind clinical trial. The participants were caregivers of the elderly registered at a referral center for the care of the elderly population in Salvador, Bahia. Randomization took place with 45 participants, allocating 23 in the control group and 22 in the intervention group. The collection was carried out between September and December 2021, remotely. Initially, the sociodemographic and health questionnaire, the Nordic musculoskeletal symptom questionnaire and the visual analogue scale were applied. The intervention took place in three stages: sending and training the educational manual for guidance on self-care; sending and training the video with postural guidelines during care for the elderly; monitoring twice a week for two months, by text messages or call according to the caregiver's preference, in order to strengthen learning, solve doubts and remind them to perform the daily care contained in the manual. No intervention was offered to the control group. After 15 days of completion of the intervention, the Nordic questionnaire on musculoskeletal symptoms was reapplied, considering only the question referring to the seven days, and the visual analogue scale. The primary outcome is a reduction in musculoskeletal symptoms perceived by caregivers. Analyzes were performed according to the clinical trial protocol, using the free software JAMOVI. Descriptive statistics, Student's t, chi-square or Fisher's exact tests and 95% confidence intervals were used. P<0.05 was considered a significant value. Results: Of the 45 caregivers interviewed, the majority were female (86.7%), daughters (68.9%), aged between 26 and 72 years, black (88.8%), with high school (46, 7%), living in peripheral neighborhoods (55.9%), with family income between one and three minimum wages (82.2%). Of these, 51.1% take care of the elderly for more than 19 hours/day, 97.8% have not taken a caregiver course, 86.7% have taken care of the elderly for more than a year, 68.9% have care support and 64.4% have professional guidance to provide care. Regarding the pilot of the randomized clinical trial, 32/45 caregivers completed all stages of the study (IG=12 and CG=20). Of the caregivers participating in the intervention group, in the last seven days, 91.66% had a reduction in pain in the cervical spine and knee, with a statistically significant difference (p=0.030). Regarding the intensity of hip pain, 75.0% of the intervention group had no pain or had mild pain, a statistically significant difference (p=0.025). Conclusion: The educational health technology used at home allowed the reduction of musculoskeletal symptoms perceived in the cervical, knee and hip body segments of the intervention group. The study strengthens the need for actions aimed at promoting the health of caregivers of the elderly, emphasizing that health professionals must be able to provide comprehensive care to the elderly and their caregivers through these actions, aiming not only to ensure that care for the elderly is carried out safely, but also encouraging the caregiver's self-care. It is suggested to carry out other studies for the translation of knowledge through educational interventions to guarantee quality to the physical health of those who care.