O lugar da velhice: Um estudo acerca das vivências e representações socioespaciais em uma instituição de longa permanência (ILPI) de Minas Gerais

Abstract

Long stay institutions for the elderly people (Nursing Homes) are places for people who need a house and need to be cared for in the long term. In this regard, this study aimed to analyse the social representations of a long stay institution in the angle of the elderly people and caretakers. This study has used qualitative research method based on phenomenology. For this purpose, 15 interviews with Elder people and caretakers of one long stay institution in a city in Minas Gerais state were carried out, from August to December 2017. Those interviews were transcribed resulting in 16 hours and 33 minutes recorded. As data analysis, it has been used content analysis in this paper. Through the interviews we could check that place perception of Nursing Homes for each elderly person is subjective, therefore, their livingness, feeling of belonging, experiences and symbolism are in accordance with each elderly person and each caretaker who experience that space. Then, after a general analysis we could check that Nursing Homes are places of embracement, but at the same time reclusion. Through livingness of elderly people in Nursing Homes various sensations and topophobia and topophilia feelings were aroused in the inmates and caretakers. During the interviews we could also observe representations in the aspect of old age and caring. We can verify that elderly people see old age as a loneliness phase and absences (social contacts and material possessions) and through this perspective of old age in the view of elderly people we have identified that caretakers feel scared of the future, meaning afraid of getting old and being in the same position of the elderly people in the institution. Depicting the perspective of caring we have checked that caretakers feel accomplished by their work done, because they consider it as an opportunity to do well to the others and that way to grow personal satisfaction. While the representation of care with the caring received, some elderly people consider it God’s providence, others outline caring in relation to power, establishing the relation employer and employee. In addition to caring, we have investigated the familiarity aspect (projection of family members) among elderly people and caretakers from the Nursing Home researched. While the territorialization of attributions from elderly people to the Nursing Home, we could determine that a great number of elderly had been put in the institution by their families, which claimed not to be able to take care of them due to daily routine flow. In light of this, we have faced the abandon of elderly people by their families in the Nursing Home studied for this paper.