Dimensions assigned to Long Term Care Facilities by managers and health professionals: interfaces and contradictions

Abstract

Abstract Objective: to analyze the dimensions assigned to long term care facilities for the elderly (LTCFs) by managers and health professionals. Method: a descriptive-exploratory study with a qualitative approach was conducted in the metropolitan area of Belo Horizonte, through ten focus groups with 51 managers and health professionals. Analysis was based on the content of the interviews. Results: considering the most common themes, three empirical categories emerged that explained the consensuses and contradictions present in the empirical material: a) the LTCF and the perpetuation of the asylum space; b) the LTCF as a space for health treatment c) a home: convergences and contradictions in the LTCF. Initially, findings relating to the political definition of the LTCF directly linked to social organs are evidenced. In the second category, LTCFs are described negatively, perpetuating the stigma of the term "asylum" which still reverberates in their daily lives. As a treatment space, LTCFs are considered health facilities due to the services offered and the presence of health professionals on a daily basis. In the third analysis, they are recognized as a home, based on current legislation that describes the LTCF as a collective, residential area. Conclusion: it is important to discuss the different attributes given to the LTCF to create resolutive actions in the care of the institutionalized elderly. The importance of thinking about the rights to health of the elderly and the need to understand how they inhabit this space is also emphasized.