Conceptions and feelings of institutionalized elderly about family

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the perception of the elderly living on a nursing home on the meaning of family and its role in his life. It is an exploratory descriptive study of qualitative approach, carried out with 10 elderly residents of a long-term institution for the elderly in the city of Maringá, PR. Data was collected in May and June 2011, through semi-structured interview.  For treatment of the data was used content analysis, thematic modality, showing the following categories: “Conceptions of institutionalized elderly about family” and “ Feelings enlivened by the absence of the family”. It was concluded that the nursing staff should promote the good relationship between the elderly and the family, because of the absenteeism of relatives in the life of the elderly is not always generated only by their responsibility but by a complexity of events that resulted in the rupture of bonding. In addition, many seniors have no family, no ties outside the institution. Thus, we deem necessary interventions that favor the approach of the elderly themselves inside the institution, so they can foresee in the environment an opportunity to establish new bonds of affection and not a place of social isolation.