How documentation reflects nursing care design for caregivers

• Main Author: França, Daniela
• Publication Date: 2022
• Other Authors: Festa, António, Santos, Patrícia, Peixoto, Maria José, Araújo, F.
• Format: Article
• Language: eng
• Source: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Download full: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.26/44001
• topic: Caregivers; Primary health care; Documentation

Abstract Background: Caregivers must acquire knowledge and develop skills that ensure the safety of the care delivered and guarantee their own self-care. Nurses take on the role of facilitators in this transition process, with nursing information systems being used as tools to safeguard the continuity and quality of care. Objective: To understand nursing care design for caregivers. Methodology: This is a mixed method study with a descriptive exploratory research design, analyzing 163 files of caregiver documentation and using a questionnaire (N = 72). Results: It was possible to identify the underreporting of caregivers. Caregivers were predominantly elderly women with moderate burden who reported difficulties in instrumental activities and needed support from an additional caregiver or a formal support network. Conclusion: Identifying the needs and difficulties of caregivers combined with the observed underreporting strengthens the need for bringing the models in use closer to the models presented, thus translating this process into an improvement of quality standards in nursing care for caregivers.