Abstract

SANTANA, Elaine dos S. et al. Care to the dependent older person: motivations of caregivers in Brazil and Portugal. Psicol. teor. prat. [online]. 2021, vol.23, n.3, pp. 1-28. ISSN 1516-3687.  http://dx.doi.org/10.5935/1980-6906/ePTPSP13428.

In an attempt to fulfill care needs to the elderly, the family usually assumes this function. In order to understand the social representations of informal caregivers of Brazilian and Portuguese elderly people about the motivations for care, a qualitative, exploratory-descriptive research was carried out, based on the Social Representations Theory, in which 21 informal Brazilian caregivers and 11 informal Portuguese caregivers of elderly dependents were interviewed. Thematic Content Analysis and QSR NVivo® software were used in the treatment of the data, and the results showed care as the main motivation: family relationships, in which marriage, parenting, and the affections resulting from these relationships led to the function; the negative representation of Portuguese caregivers on the home, as a place of abandonment and action contrary to the cultural norm; and the representation of the elderly as frail and dependent, who, like children, constantly need care and attention.

Keywords : caregivers; seniors; functional dependence; motivations; family.

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