Formal and Informal Care

Abstract

Due to the increase in life expectancy and therefore the prevalence of chronic pathologies, health services have required a change, as well as healthcare. One of these chronic pathologies is obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS), which is a disorder characterized by an occlusion of the upper airway, an issue that causes an interruption of breathing inducing transient asphyxia. The treatment of this disease is based on continuous positive airway pressure devices (CPAP), but the main caregiver faces problems of adherence to this treatment, causing a deterioration both physically, socially, and psychologically. Therefore, the objective of this present work is to 1) identify the characteristics of OSAS, 2) describe adherence to treatment, and 3) detail the biopsychosocial deterioration of the main caregiver of this pathology in the elderly.