Vivências de perda e luto de idosos residentes em uma instituição asilar de longa permanência em Ribeirão Preto-SP / Experiences of loss and grief of elderly living in a nursing home at Ribeirão Preto-SP.

AUTOR(ES)
DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO

2008

RESUMO

For the elderly, life in a nursing home may result in a multitude of losses which must be addressed by the individual through the process of grief. This process, when pathologic, may not be sufficient, becoming a major catalyst for depression among seniors. The objective of this study was to investigate situations of loss and grief among institutionalized seniors. It is a qualitative, descriptive and exploratory research. Including criteria: individuals 60 years or older who had the ability to comunicate and understand, agreeing with the Consent Term. Half-structured interviews conducted with six people were recorded and submitted to "contents analysis" (Minayos method). Three categories of emotional loss were created: loss by death, loss by separation and other losses. Loss by separation was further divided into three subcategories: marriage separation, family separation and separation of peers living in the nursing home. The death of a loved one reminds the elderly individual of his/her own mortality, complicating the process of mourning. Separation, however, is much more difficult to overcome because there is a loss among the living, with the possibility to lose the meaning of life with the other one. Therefore, separation may cause more fear than death itself. Finally, understanding loss and grief among the elderly people is fundamental for nursing care, in order to help them with the process of coping and to prevent institutionalization to become an unpleasant experience.

ASSUNTO(S)

institutionalization institucionalização grief idoso luto. elderly

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