| Revista INFAD 2012 |
ISSN EDICIÓN EN PAPEL: 0214-9877 |
| Nº1, Vol. 3, pp. 357-365 | doi: en trámite |
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O cuidador informal: avaliação e caracterização das populações com dependentes internados em unidades de cuidados continuados
Carolina Miguel Graça Henriques / Ricardo Jorge Vieira Lopes . pp. 357-365
Introduction: The aging of societies is an incontestable fact and Portugal is no exception. Although among the youngest countries of the European Union (in 1996, the aging index was 86 elderly for every 100 young people, while the European Union in the same proportion was 91 to 100), it is estimated that the aging population undergoes a progressive increase (Fonseca, 2005). The age structure is growing older, having low levels of fertility and mortality (Fontaine, 2000).
Methods: This research aims to identify the sociodemographic characteristics of informal care-givers and users admitted to the Junction and UCCI Ourém; assess the level of dependency of clients admitted and determine the level of subjective burden, caregiver satisfaction and impact of care on informal caregivers of users admitted to the Junction and UCCI Ourém. We used a descriptive cor-relational methodology, with a sample of 32 informal caregivers and respective dependents admit-ted to the Continuing Care Unit. Was applied to the Caregiver Assessment Scale, to measure the levels of subjective burden, caregiver satisfaction and impact of care on informal caregivers, and the Barthel Index to determine the functional dependence of the dependent institutionalized. Demographic data were collected using a questionnaire.
Results: We found a statistically significant relationship exists between subjective burden and level of dependency as well as between the impact of care and level of dependency.
Conclusions: We conclude that the population of informal caregivers of clients of Continuing Care Units, attention is needed to more incisive of the technicians to improve their quality of life and by extension, improving the quality of life of their dependents.
Keywords: Informal Caregiver, Dependence; Caregiver Burden
