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Informal and quasi-formal home care of people with chronic health problems and their assitant’s opinion
Chaves Pérez, J.B., García Ruiz Mª.V., Nievas Cazorla Mª.G.

Introduction: Nowadays, there is an increasing number of people who assume the care of relatives or old people with chronic health problems in their homes. At present they constitute the essential basis of the informal care of this group of dependent people.

Objective: We pretend to establish which is the opinion of the “assistant-provider” of (informal/quasi- formal) support and care thinks about their relations with health professionals, motivations, family problems, as well as the possible repercussions, both physical and psychic, on them.

Methodology: A qualitative methodology has been used, based on an in-depth interview carried out in the same house where the informal cares are taken. Once permission had been asked to record the interview, which lasted 60 minutes, afterwards, it was transcribed and analysed.

Results: The family environment is directly responsible for the implication in the cares between daughter and mother. It was found that the relative-daughter developed appropriate nursing skills. Physical and psychic repercussions are observed in the informal assistant, together with minimum social interaction. The informal assistant shows efficiency when dealing with unexpected situations. The opinion about the accessibility to the health system is positive, particulaly the importance of health education; the opinion about socialinstitutions is less positive. The economic needs of the informal assistant make it necessary for her to take care of other people. Adaptation of cares to other working situations.

Conclusions: It is essential to provide a proper health education to guarantee the assistant’s development of nursing skills and abilities. Health professionals should help to minimize both the physical and psychic repercussions on the assistant. The nursing staff is a great facilitator of the mechanisms of accessibility to the health systems supporting the assistant in case of nursing or bureaucratic needs.