Banca de DEFESA: LARISSA EMMANUELE DE SANTANA FÉLIX

Home care by informal elderly caregivers: construction of assistance technology for literacy assessment

Primary Health Care; Informal caregiver; Elderly; Health Literacy

During the aging process, which is becoming increasingly common, not everyone is able to maintain their functional abilities. Weaknesses lead to dependence and the need for a caregiver, most often an informal one. Caregivers need to assume their duties in the knowledge of the impact their care has on the elderly person's life. Performing their role properly provides a favorable prognosis for the elderly person and eases their burden. The Family Health Strategy's closest territory is the home, and it is through home visits that meaningful relationships are developed with the elderly person and their caregiver through support and co-responsibility for care. For this support to be carried out properly, it is necessary to assess and stimulate the health literacy of informal caregivers. Health literacy is the set of skills and competencies used by individuals to obtain, process and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions for themselves and others. Increased literacy leads to the empowerment and protagonism of the caregiver in carrying out health care, in ensuring their safety and the safety of the elderly person. This research aims to contribute to the Primary Health Care team in home care through the Health Literacy of informal caregivers of elderly people. It is a qualitative study developed through a Convergent Care Survey. The research setting was a municipality in the greater Natal area and participants included dependent elderly people, informal caregivers and ESF health professionals. The information collected was analyzed using Bardin's Content Analysis and the Atlas.ti® software. Next, the professionals present at the CG1 participated in the construction of an instrument to accompany the informal caregiver to support home care for the elderly through a new Convergence Group, called CG2, mediated by the Charles Maguerez Arc Method during four meetings. GC2 was registered as an Extension Project at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte's Extension Office. Home care faces many obstacles if it is to be carried out optimally. Dependent elderly people depend on overburdened caregivers in a scenario that is unfavorable to the health of both. Health professionals, not far from these impasses, recognize the importance of the caregiver, but still carry out visits centered on the elderly person. The team's lack of knowledge of the term Health Literacy means that it is not used as a criterion for decisions, limiting the provision of care. As a way of broadening the professional view of the caregiver and Health Literacy, a tool was collectively built to accompany the informal caregiver by Primary Health Care to support home care for the elderly.