Nurses Attitudes to the Dependent Elderly and Their Caregivers

Department of Nursing, University of Cantabria, Spain

*Corresponding Author:

Carmen M Sarabia-Cobo
Department of Nursing, University of Cantabria, Spain
Tel: 34 942 202 239
E-mail: carmensarabiacobo@gmail.com

Received date: December 02, 2015 Accepted date: December 09, 2015 Published date: January 04, 2016

Citation: Sarabia-Cobo CM (2016) Nurses Attitudes to the Dependent Elderly and Their Caregivers. J Comm Pub Health Nursing 2:e110. doi:10.4172/2471-9846.1000e110

Copyright: © 2016 Sarabia-Cobo CM. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

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Increased life expectancy and the growth of the age group 80 and older, along with the increase of people of all ages as a result of some kind of accident or illness suffered any impairment or disability, and the change in epidemiological patterns of the elderly that focuses on chronic and degenerative problems, is leading to increasingly greater the number of people who have some kind of dependence and therefore should be cared for by others [1]. The family is the institution that traditionally and main form has been taking care of the dependent elderly. Currently, and as a result of the increase in the number of dependents and the changes in the family and society, among which are the decreasing number of children, the increase in separations, increasing the number of people living alone and the majority incorporation of women into the workplace, along with the few public aid about a situation in which the family is increasingly more difficult to continue to address this problem in the way that he had done is given [2].

This actually causes the care of dependent elders living as a problem and is one of the main concerns of our society, [3] to the point that just as has happened in other countries of our European environment, it is working to achieve a specific public protection against this risk as has happened in Spain [4].

The care takes place is known as family or informal family care and complements the formal health care system dependent. The professionals responsible for this task are nurses who work with families in care and dependent care in general and the elderly in particular [5]. The collaboration allows nurses have special knowledge and understanding of the problem areas that have the care situations and on what are the real needs of support and help for the elderly and their family caregivers. Therefore when assessing the problems that involve these situations and propose possible solutions is important that the proposals made nurses are heard about it [6].

Nurses should reflect on their own position on the care of elderly dependents, on the reasons why defending or not certain approaches and the consequences that certain actions have on the health and quality of life of the elderly themselves and their family caregivers and consider what should be its specific professional contribution to the issue of dependency [7]. This approach is essential if you really want to increase the effectiveness and quality of care and ultimately contribute to the improved health of the population.

The perception that nurses in our country (Europe) have on people who care for patients confined to their homes depends on factors related to its theoretical approach, both his own life experience and professional training. This forms the collective attitude of nurses about the people who provide care for their dependent relatives and undoubtedly oriented behaviors [8].

The nurse faces a major task in caring for dependent persons and their caregivers. This probably requires certain changes and adaptations in the forms of work and prior learning; it requires mobilizing community resources and share professional knowledge with those who care at all times to the dependent person.

Nurses have a key role in caring for the dependent elderly, as their work with families allows them to have a deep understanding of the problems and the changing needs of the elderly and their family caregivers during dependency. But to prevent the occurrence of problems and address them more effectively, it is necessary to reflect on practice, identify weaknesses and propose alternatives which often involves new approaches to care and changes in organization and priorities thereof . This is an essential exercise of professional responsibility and the way they have nurses to ensure a more tailored, comprehensive and efficient care and help increase the health, quality of life and independence of the dependent elderly and their family caregivers.

References

1. WHO (2015) Definition of an older or elderly person. Health statistics and information systems
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4. 2006 Proyecto de Ley de Promoción de la Autonomía Personal y Atención a las Personas en situación de dependencia. BOCG 84:1-16. 
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