Aquisição de maestria pela cuidadora para a continuidade do cuidado após alta hospitalar

Abstract

Caregivers who provide transitional care to people with functional dependence require the mastery of skills that guarantee the success of continuity of care, this domain of care requires nursing interventions to support the caregiver. The study aims to understand aspects of the development of caregiver mastery for continuity of care after hospital discharge. This was an exploratory, qualitative research, carried out in a university hospital in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, between July and December 2022, with fourteen caregivers of people with functional dependence who met the inclusion criteria. Data collection was carried out in three interconnected phases; in the first phase, there was a documentary analysis (forms used by the matrix research) of the people under care and their respective family members/responsible caregivers, collecting sociodemographic and health data and aspects that influence the continuity of care; In the second and third phases, telephone calls were made to invite people to participate in the research and a semi-structured questionnaire was administered to the participating caregivers at the end of the follow-up of the matrix research, to identify aspects about the acquisition of mastery. The data was organized using the Web Qualitative Data Analysis software, analyzed using thematic content analysis and discussed in light of the Theory of Transitions proposed by Afaf Meleis. The caregivers were women, mostly married, living in the interior of Bahia, in an urban area, suffering from a chronic illness, using medication, supported in some way by family members. They all cared for people with dependency in activities of daily living, some using a gastrostomy. During hospitalization, they received care guidance and training and were followed up by telephone after discharge. Caregivers with less care experience needed more calls to acquire mastery. Only two caregivers did not feel situated and engaged in this new role for various reasons, not achieving mastery. Transitional care is essential for continuity of care. It provides necessary support throughout hospitalization and after discharge, it favors the acquisition of mastery as engaged caregivers