O trabalho de cuidado : uma análise das representações sociais de cuidadores de pessoas idosas em uma Instituição de Longa Permanência (ILPI)

Abstract

Researching the work of the caregiver of elderly people in the Institution for the Long Stay of the Elderly (ILPI) is therefore a social phenomenon that must be clarified, since it depends on the individual condition of those who perform it. The scientific study of care work becomes increasingly relevant to improve the working conditions afforded by technological and scientific advances. It is noted that several countries are experiencing different aging populations in different ways. Some countries in Europe and Japan have gradually been aging, Brazil is among the countries that ages abruptly. Considering the specificities of the formal care work, emerging from this scenario, especially the long-term care in the context of ILPIs, this study had as objective to investigate the social representations about the work of care elaborated by formal caregivers of elderly people in a Institution of Long Stay for the Elderly (ILPI). This is a case study of a social and qualitative nature. Participants in the study were a group of 9 workers from an ILPI, who work in the care of institutionalized persons of both sexes, located in a municipality in the interior of the State of São Paulo. The data were analyzed starting from the assumptions of the Consensual Universes and Reified Universes and the concepts of Objectivation and Anchoring, as stated in the theory of social representations. Through the systematization of the narratives of the participants, discursive marks and thematic categories delimited, characterizing two distinct and complementary perspectives of social representations. Care work for participants reveals representations of "learning," "love," "art," "caring." Care work also represents "dimensions beyond techniques." Considering the nature and dynamics of a philanthropic, closed and "long-stay" institution, representations emerge of work marked by precarious conditions, lack of capacity to deal with the emotions of the elderly, and also of their own emotions, expressing a "Heavy work" that requires physical effort and recognition. It is verified that the knowledge about the care work is still limited, and it is necessary to develop internal actions of the institution, as well as the public policies of long-term follow-up of the working conditions of care.