Informal caregiver training in approaching the body balance of long-term care users at home

Abstract

Introduction: The increasing elderly fringe of the Portuguese population suffers a decline in some physical and cognitive abilities like loss of muscle strength and sensory-motor coordination and consequently impairment of static and dynamic balance. This combined with the desire on the part of society to take care of these people in a home environment for as long as possible, gives enormous relevance to the figure of the informal caregiver and their educational needs.

Objective: Evaluate the contribution of a training program applied by rehabilitation nurse specialists on informal caregivers in the approach to body balance of the long-term care users at home.

Methodology: Quasi-experimental study, single group, with observation before and after a training program, in the context of home visits, divided into 6 sessions. The sample was non-probabilistic and by convenience. It included 10 informal caregivers and their dependent person being cared for. For data collection was used a sociodemographic form, research in the computerized clinical file of the user, an observation grid was prepared for the purpose, the Tinetti Test and the Barthel Index.

Results: We found that after the intervention the informal caregivers demonstrated mastery of the theoretical and practical knowledge transmitted, and the dependent long-term care users showed significant average gains in balance and autonomy.

Conclusion: People in the household with a high degree of dependence can benefit from basic care related to static sitting balance through the training of the respective informal caregiver, which is reflected in gains in their balance and autonomy.