Caring for Elderly at Home

“Caring for those who have taken care of us is not a duty, it is an HONOR”

As we age, changes take place that make the elderly person vulnerable and susceptible to having a certain level of dependency.

Older people at some point in their lives will present loss of physical, mental and intellectual capacity, needing significant assistance or help to carry out the activities of daily life (eating, walking, grooming, dressing, bathing, going to the bathroom) and/or instrumental (use the phone, shop, prepare food, housework, use transportation, take your medications, manage money, go outside).



In order to care for the elderly, it is necessary to have a high human capacity to respect the dignity of the "other" whom they are caring for, since they have difficulty getting up, dressing, wandering, among others; being important to maintain the autonomy of that older person.



This work of caring is deeply human, represents a great opportunity in the lives of those who do it; opportunity to express affection for parents, opportunity to reestablish lost ties.



Caring is a deeply human expression: seeing ourselves reflected in the "other", that is, seeing ourselves reflected, the older adults of tomorrow, in the older person we care for today. In this way, we will be closer to caring for the "other" as I would like to be cared for tomorrow.



The task is not easy. The family faces, with a father, mother, grandfather or grandmother, profoundly impaired. The family must then face a new and unknown task. There is a change of roles, parents need to be cared for by their children. The children are over-used since they, in turn, have children to look after.



Currently, the conditions of the families are not the most optimal to take care of the parents: small houses, women who spend much of their time at work, problems with children, especially adolescents, to name a few difficulties. This reality stresses the family, which must make adjustments in their organization to care for the older person and at the same time maintain their balance.



The objective of this course is to provide knowledge that allows the development of behaviors, skills, and competences to care for older people who have physical, mental and social limitations that prevent them from carrying out the activities of daily life on their own and satisfying all their needs by themselves. , thus making the human work of "caring" more bearable.