Masculinities in Brazil: Identity tinkering and dementia care

Revista Sociologia & Antropologia, 2018

In this article, we reflect on the care practices and relationships that contribute to the well-being of people with intellectual disabilities, living in a poor neighbourhood of Porto Alegre (Brazil), in a context of incipient public policies for this population. Through the ethnographic description of the experience of three women from who are responsible for adult relatives with what they call ‘head troubles’, we aim to illustrate the gender, generation, class and ethnicity peculiarities of their trajectories. We consider that taking stock of the various dynamics at play in situations of care, as well as the interaction of the family, neighbourhood, and public resources available to deal with such challenges, is a fundamental step for forging efficient policies adjusted to the complexities of the contemporary context

2012

Este estudo descreve a sobrecarga de cuidadores de idosos demenciados no Brasil por meio de uma revisão integrativa da literatura, no período de 1999 a 2009, publicado em português e em inglês. Os dados foram coletados pelas bases de dados eletrônicas Pubmed, Cinahl e Lilacs. As palavras-chave usadas na CINAHL e na Pubmed foram: dementia ou cognitive impairment, aged ou older people, Brazil, caregiver burden ou caregiver stress ou caregiver strain. Foram encontradas 14 pesquisas. As palavras-chave usadas nos LILACS na categoria DeCS foram idosos", "cuidadores" e "demência" foram combinados com "e", que conduziram a 25 estudos. Aproximadamente 39 estudos foram selecionados, os quais foram reduzidos então a vinte, após temas não relacionados, a língua espanhola, pesquisas repetidas, teses/dissertações e livros. As pesquisas foram organizadas em três temas: doze(60%) focalizaram na correlação entre a sobrecarga e as características dos cuidadores e dos idosos; seis (30%) reportaram as experiências e sentimentos dos cuidadores e dois (10%) discutiram a defi nição de sobrecarga. Há necessidade de que os serviços sanitários governamentais brasileiros, as universidades, as organizações não governamentais e outras agências e redes planejem propostas formais e informais de intervenção dirigidas aos cuidadores informais.

Développement Humain, Handicap et Changement Social

Assisted Living for adults with disabilities is a recent subject in both Brazilian legislation and public debates. Although still stigmatized by the idea that those who seek different living arrangements for their children would be abandoning them, the concern with both the autonomy of people with disabilities and the well-being of the caregivers has prompted this theme to gain force in public and private spheres. Drawing from an ethnographic work with mothers of adults with cognitive disabilitiesy from Porto Alegre, Brazil, who constituted a group to demand governmental action regarding assisted living facilities, I propose a reflection on how such plea enables a further discussion on the way disability and care are enacted. I argue that by thinking of their trajectories through the care practices they entail, one can track the moralities surrounding their experience of motherhood and how they are telling of the way disability is dealt with in this specific time and place. Situating their claim within broader debates on institutionalization, I stress how their plea cannot be understood without a critical stand on ableism and the invisibility and devaluation of care work.

Journal of Clinical Nursing, 2018

Aims and objectivesTo understand the lived experiences of older Brazilian carers.BackgroundFor many caregivers, the practice of caregiving becomes their daily lives, embedding in their care and the experiences, beliefs, learning and techniques that contribute to the meanings these caregivers attach to their world. Studies have reported on the experiences of caregivers in general; however, few studies have addressed the unique characteristics of older caregivers.MethodPhenomenological research was conducted in the homes of these persons who were registered in a public programme of home care. This study utilised recorded interviews with a guiding question and roadmap for characterisation. The transcribed interviews were analysed based on philosophical hermeneutics and on the understanding of the hermeneutic circle. The units of meaning were discussed from the perspective of Heidegger's phenomenology.ResultsSix older primary caregivers participated, aged between 62–84 years. The fo...

Journal of Nursing Ufpe Online, 2014

Objective: to reflect on the care of the caregiver of elderly with dementia in the light of the National Policy for Health Care of the Elderly and the current legislation. Method: this is a reflection developed from the care of the caregiver of elderly with dementia and National Policy for Health Care of the Elderly, in which this care is built daily. Results: the challenges that caregivers face in their daily life to take care of their family and themselves were presented, articulating such issues with the policies. It is also discussed, from the economic impact of the care of elderly with dementia, the need to establish support networks. Conclusion: it was observed that the implementation of policies and relevant legislation presents advances to establish a network of care for the elderly, but does not include in its guidelines support to the family that takes care of the elderly with dementia. Descriptors: Caregiver; Elderly; Dementia; Health Policy. RESUMO Objetivo: refletir acerca do cuidado com o cuidador de idoso com demência à luz das diretrizes da Política Nacional de Atenção à Saúde do Idoso e da legislação pertinente. Método: trata-se de uma reflexão desenvolvida a partir do cuidado com o cuidador de idoso com demência e da Política de Atenção à Saúde do Idoso, na qual este cuidado se constrói cotidianamente. Resultados: apresentaram-se os desafios que o cuidador enfrenta em seu cotidiano para cuidar do seu familiar e de si mesmo, articulando tais questões com as políticas. Discutiu-se ainda, a partir do impacto econômico do cuidado do idoso com demência, a necessidade de estabelecimento de redes de suporte. Conclusão: observou-se que a implementação das políticas e legislação pertinente apresenta avanços para estabelecer uma rede de atenção ao idoso, no entanto, não contempla em suas diretrizes o suporte à família que assume o cuidado do idoso com demência. Descritores: Cuidador; Idoso; Demência; Política de Saúde. RESUMEN Objetivo: reflexionar sobre el cuidado con el cuidador de anciano con demencia a la

Interface, 2024

The objective of study was to understand the motivations and implications of care given by men for dependent elderly family members. Qualitative research happened between July and December 2018 in six cities in the five Brazilian regions, interviewing 11 men who perform tasks as informal caregivers. The men assumed this task because the women's exhaustion and sickness, added to affective and marital reciprocity. Their sons expressed discomfort in taking personal care of their parents, while the spouses had difficulties with domestic activities. Lonely caregivers were tired, in pain, sleep deprived, experiencing depressive symptoms and loneliness. Support provided by family members and formal caregivers proved to be valuable in alleviating the suffering of caregivers who were reluctant to ask for help. Health professionals are called to pay attention to informal care providers for family members.

Communications in Computer and Information Science Springer International Publishing, 2019

Mendes, Felismina; Mestre, Tatiana; Santana, Elaine; Reis, Luciana; Lopes, Manuel. Violence Against the Elderly: Social Representations of Portuguese and Brazilian Caregivers. Communications in Computer and Information Science. 11ed.: Springer International Publishing, p. 295-306., 2019 The increase in life expectancy and elderly people in society, coupled with changes in family structure, have highlighted the importance of formal and informal caregivers of elderly people. Objective: To analyse the social representations of violence against the elderly, of two groups of formal and informal caregivers. Methods: Exploratory, quantitative and qualitative research, supported by the theoretical-methodological reference of the Social Representations Theory and in the context of this, the Central Core Theory. The sample was participated in by 81 formal caregivers from the project “Aging in Safety in the Alentejo - Understanding to Act, of the University of Évora” and 20 informal caregivers from the project “Qualification of caregivers and aspects related to the quality of life of the elderly people dependent on primary and tertiary care: Implementation and protocol evaluation, of the State University of Southwest of Bahia”. We used the Free Word Association Technique. The data was analysed by prototypical analysis based on two matrices by the software IRAMUTEQ (Interface de R pour les Analyses Multidimensionnelles de Textes et de Questionnaires) 0.7 alpha 2. Results: In Portugal, the elements “bad, mistreatment, I will be, sad, anger, patience, physical, injustice, irritation and meanness” stood out in the central core. In Brazil the mention of “hitting” was emphasized. Conclusions: In both Portugal and Brazil, physical violence takes on particular significance in the social representations of caregivers, rather than verbal and psychological violence, which is not present in the central core of social representations of violence against the elderly in either of the countries.

This article examines one aspect of Alzheimer’s disease, which describes it as a ‘memory disease’. In the specific context of urban Brazil this relatively new illness category, which is creating a certain tension with older concepts of senility, is seen within the changing world of the Country’s memory politics – and a changing culture of aging - which create new values and new ways of dealing with memory and its diseases. An important aspect of the older notion of senility is the way a person creatively and in a flexible way deals with life’s stress and strain. And part of this highly valued flexibility is the capacity of forgetting negative events, of ‘letting go’. The incapacity of this, not having ‘flexible hips’, is one reason of becoming ill. It is not argued that a changing cultural context in Brazil is creating a disease like Alzheimer’s, but that certain memory practices help to explain, to live and to contest traditional and new ways of dealing with senility and that this process is dynamic one and still in the beginning in Brazil.

Dementia & Neuropsychologia

ABSTRACT. The United Kingdom-Brazil Dementia Workshop took place in July 2019 in the city of Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil, with an interdisciplinary group of health and care professionals from the United Kingdom and from Brazil to address challenges in diagnosis, public perception and care of dementia. The aim of this article is to present the results identified in relation to challenges in the care of dementia, including recommendations that could potentially guide local and State/Municipal authorities and care services for people with dementia in the future. Four key issues were prioritised to identify challenges and generate possible solutions in Brazil and the United Kingdom: I) limitations of current health systems; II) continuous and long-term support for family carers (pre-diagnosis, mourning); III) support for people with advanced dementia and end-of-life care; IV) support for people with young-onset dementia. In both countries, carers feel left without post-diagnostic support...

Revista de Pesquisa: Cuidado é Fundamental Online, 2015

Objetivo: Traçar o perfil dos cuidadores informais de idosos atendidos em unidades de saúde do município de João Pessoa-PB. Método: Estudo de natureza quantitativa, observacional e transversal realizado por meio de entrevista aos cuidadores, no período de abril a junho de 2011, utilizando um roteiro de dados para a caracterização sócio-demográfica dos cuidadores, informações relacionadas à saúde/doença do idoso e se conta com ajuda para cuidar do idoso. Foram considerados como população os cuidadores de idosos residentes no município de João Pessoa-PB e atendidos nas referidas instituições, perfazendo um total de 251 cuidadores, que após análise da consistência dos dados coletados a amostra constituiu por 219 cuidadores. Resultados: Evidenciou-se que o cuidador de idosos é na sua grande maioria do sexo feminino, com idade entre 41 e 50 anos, mora com esposo ou com companheiro, tem de doze ou mais anos de estudo, é filho do idoso, mas não vive com o mesmo. Consideram-se informados co...