Caring for institutionalized elderly: representations of managers and professionals

Abstract

ABSTRACT Objective: Analyze the social representations of professionals and managers of long-term care institution for the elderly about the care and the influence of this conception in the practice of caring. Method: This is a qualitative research carried out with twenty-nine professionals and four managers of a long-term institution for the elderly in a city in the interior of São Paulo. The data, collected in two phases through individual interviews and workshops, were analyzed through the techniques of the Collective Subject Discourse and Content Analysis in the thematic modality. Results: About their representations about care, three main ideas were identified for managers: "giving affection"; "Supply basic needs"; and "look broadened." For the professionals, the main ideas were "to help and to give affection"; "Supply needs"; and "extended care". It also identified that the representations of the elderly influence the care practice. Final considerations and implications for the practice: The maintenance of the caregiving vision of the care process and the charitable model of producing health in these institutions are reflections of the representations of the elderly. Thus, it is necessary to review the social roles of the elderly, recognizing them as protagonists of their care process aiming at a better quality of care for this population.