Caracterização da pessoa dependente no autocuidado: um estudo de base populacional num concelho do norte de Portugal

Abstract

IntroductionIn the world we live in today, as a result of the socio-demographic, economic and structural changes, dependency on self-care is becoming more and more important, and nowadays it is of great concern to the social health policies to identify the people in a dependency situation and to come up with solutions that are suitable to meet their needs. ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to characterize and describe people dependent on self-care, integrated within a traditional family, within a private household, in a specific region in Northern Portugal. Material and methodsIn a study of a quantitative, exploratory and descriptive correlation nature, and using a random, stratified and proportional probabilistic sampling technique, 2126 classic families were identified in Paços de Ferreira, in a “door-to-door” approach. 248 of them were found to have dependent members and 241 of these families accepted to take part in this research. Forms entitled “Families with Self-Care Dependent members” were used as instruments of data collection. ResultsThe results showed that the dependent people were mainly female and of a higher age group. As for the degree of dependency on self-care, it was shown that the higher percentage of dependent people who at least need someone's help, mostly include those who can take care of themselves: take their own medicine, feed themselves, get ready, bath or shower, get dressed and undressed, use a wheelchair, use the toilet, walk, move around, get up, and turn themselves around. As far as the degree of dependency is concerned, where global self-care is concerned, 7,9% of them were totally dependent without any kind of participation, 91,7% needed someone's help and 0,4% only needed equipment. ConclusionThe results, besides demonstrating that they need help to perform at least one of the activities inherent to each set of self-care tasks, also show that they are more likely to be exposed to a higher risk of compromising bodily processes. In view of the above, it is necessary to be aware of this reality, from an epidemiological point of view, in order to plan the proper care to meet their needs and to lead to improved health.