When is it better to do home care or leave the elderly in a nursing home?

The decision to keep an elderly person in the home environment or in a nursing home still generates many doubts and anxieties in the families, because the theme is permeated by issues of values such as feelings of guilt, abandonment, and the difficulty of choosing the right place.

When the elderly are able to decide on their own life, it is up to them to choose the best alternative for care. He can stay in his own home (with the assistance of a caregiver), move to the home of a child or close family member (where he will be cared for by family members and, where possible, by a professional caregiver) or taken to a

Firstly, it is important to understand that these homes, called Long-term Care Institutions for the Elderly (ILPIs), can be an option for both housing and health care and the reasons that will lead an elderly person to live in these places are diverse and may be related to each other or not.

For example, there are healthy, independent seniors who prefer to live in an institution because they feel more secure and have more contacts with others. Living with relatives does not always mean living with them daily, modern life involves us in a large number of social activities and roles, especially the professional activity, indispensable for the subsistence of the family and the elderly.

There are situations where bedridden, totally dependent, are kept in the home environment, safely, with the support of home health services such as home care companies. This does not mean that they are more loved than others, but that the family structure allows this, since it is necessary that there is some family member who manages this care, as well as financial resources. health services are intense, and even with the support of a company, the family has no conditions and time to manage these care, as many children of the elderly share their time with work, care of their own home and small children. In addition, sometimes it is necessary to take the elderly to live in the children's home, which is not always possible due to the physical structure of the place.

This dilemma usually arises when the functional capacity begins to deteriorate more sharply and the elderly depend on another person to perform basic daily activities such as food, personal hygiene, bathing, dressing and walking, which can bring work overload to those who care, physical and emotional stress, as not everyone has a profile and aptitude to manage this situation which may lead to inadequate care for the elderly, and thus institutionalization is safer.

Therefore, there is not a single factor that defines an elderly person going to a nursing home or staying in the nursing home. or live with a relative. The important thing is to be aware that whatever the decision may be, the family can provide care and attention, either by making constant visits to the institution, taking the elderly home and taking small walks (when their health conditions allow). In doing so, guilt is minimized, and institutionalization is perceived as an alternative to providing security and care to someone so dear.

How to choose a nursing home

If the best solution is to take your relative elderly people to reside in an institution, some basic care should be taken, as choosing a nursing home to host a relative is a serious matter that should be considered with the utmost care. To help you, here are some guidelines:

Make visits to various institutions before you decide. If possible, visit more than once at the location you wish to choose, at different times, to check if the information corresponds to

• Make sure that the Institution's documentation is adequate, both in relation to the operating license and its
• Confirm that the number of employees is adequate for the number of people and their needs
• If possible, choose an easily accessible location so that you can visit it frequently
• Note if the place has structure to respond to the specific needs of the elderly in question, such as access ramps, good lighting, ventilation, comfort, non-slip flooring, presence of grab bars in bathrooms and handrails in corridors, emergency lights, night light
• Check
• Is there an emergency warning system in the rooms and bathroom, if the elderly need help?
• It is important There should be periodic meetings to take stock of the life of the elderly in the home, especially during the period of adaptation
• Visit the kitchen, see your cleaning, conditions of your equipment and cleanliness of employees
• Make sure the presence of extinguisher
• In this way, we must remove old prejudices and decide as rationally as possible, with these care, how best to take care of our loved one.

This article was written in partnership with Mariela Besse, occupational therapist of the Longevità Institute. Specialist in Gerontology by the Brazilian Society of Geriatrics and Gerontology. Master of Science from the Federal University of São Paulo. Affiliated to the Geriatrics and Gerontology Department of the Federal University of São Paulo. Member of the Board of the Brazilian Society of Geriatrics and Gerontology section São Paulo.

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