<b>Meanings attributed by family members to the act of caring for elderly people with stroke sequels

Résumé

The objective of this study was to identify meanings that family members attribute to the act of caring for elderly individuals with stroke sequels. The participants were family members that were taking care of a senior with stroke sequels, both male and female. The sample was composed of 15 family members. The instruments used for data collection were: a questionnaire referring to the participants’ personal and family profile, in addition to a semi-structured interview script. For extraction of main ideas, Bardin’s content analysis was used. The categories that emerged from the ‘Meaning of caring’ theme were: ‘A lot of love and support’, ‘Hard because of the person’s dependence’, ‘Caring is not hard’, ‘Responsibility’ and ‘Role change’. The conclusion is that caring for an elderly person with stroke sequels involves a variety of aspects and situations.