TENSIONS BETWEEN ANCIENT AND PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE IN THE FORMS AND SENSES OF ELDERS CARE

YUNI, JOSÉ Y URBANO, CLAUDIO

Milán

Congreso; 2nd Global Congress of Health Qualitative Research; 2012

Universitá Cattólica del Sacro Cuore di Milano

Providing care for the elderly is a challenge for health policy worldwide. In emerging countries, the public policy responses to population aging and the frailty of the elderly, is the training of formal caregivers. This situation demands addressing the relationship between social and community practices, which have historically given meaning to the task of caring, and also new professional practices. Thus, long-standing and culturally situated social and community practices confront with technical and scientific knowledge. In this interaction there come into play socio-cultural and identity aspects, which redefine the meanings assigned to the task of caring, which unbalance the institutions, families and health care subjects. In order to explore this process an action- research was conducted in the northwest region in Argentina (Catamarca). 59 interviews were done to reputed members of the communities, and were also implemented 15 community participatory scenarios. Through this participatory approach a training model was built for: a) optimize social support systems for families and groups of frail older adults, and b) recover the values ​​of solidarity groups of older people facing biopsychosocial forms of helplessness.