The domicile care: the vision of the dependent person and the caregiver

Abstract

Home care is characterized by a group of procedures that can be developed at home, by multiprofessional team. This descriptive exploring study was conducted between April and August of 2006, that aimed to characterize the customer in home nursing and his respective caregiver, get to know this population perceptions concerning the quality of the given home care services and how the customer evaluates the care offered by his caregiver. Forty customers registered in home nursing service from the countryside of São Paulo and their caregivers took part in the study. The results revealed that most customers were aged from 61 to 70 years old, were widowers and presented diverse pathologies. The home nursing was considered satisfactory according to the customers and their caregivers, and the content of their stories were grouped into three categories: team attention and care, home comfort and dishospitalization. The assistance given by the caregiver was considered satisfactory according to the clients’ point of view. They have also emphasized that the customer-caregiver relationship is considered terrific as well. This study reflects a constant concern from the home nursing team willing to promote the continuous improvement of the service quality, and the dependants and their caregivers’ satisfaction.