Courses for caregivers of the elderly: the clientele, content and qualification

Abstract

The need for caregivers, both formal and informal, increases as the elderly population enlarges, since the installation of chronic non-transmissible diseases and the loss of functionality increase over the years, compromising the elderly's ability to take care of him/herself. The regulation of the profession and qualification of caregivers are not yet clearly established. The research aimed to raise, through electronic search and direct contacts with the institutions, the courses offered in the state of São Paulo, with attention to duration, initial requirements to those who intend to attend them, the explicit program content, teachers involved in the proposal and the inclusion or not of practical training. A total of 39 courses were presented as in functioning. Being 16 years old and being literate were the smallest requirements found, but the criteria were not always clearly established. The number of course hours averaged 64, however ranged from four to 200. The certificate was provided by 71.8%, even if some did not include an internship in their proposal. Almost all the courses counted on a nurse as a teacher, being that several had professionals coming from diverse formations. The programs, when obtained, presented great diversity of contents, not always compatible with the proposed number of hours. In spite of efforts to regulate the profession, it is observed that the qualification courses are still very dissimilar, offering space for many to obtain certificates that do not guarantee any kind of qualification for the care of the elderly population, which requires specific care. It should be emphasized that the conditions of reality deserve to be discussed by those involved in caring for the elderly, both in academic and broader social spaces.