Estratégias de enfrentamento utilizadas por cuidadores familiares de pessoas idosas com Alzheimer: revisão integrativa

Abstract

Introduction: Population aging has contributed to an increase in the prevalence of dementia, especially Alzheimer's disease, which compromises the autonomy of the older adults and demands continuous care, usually provided by family members. This context can generate physical and emotional overload in caregivers, making it relevant to investigate the coping strategies used to deal with stress. Objective: To analyze the coping strategies used by family caregivers of elderly people with Alzheimer's disease in the face of the overload and stress arising from caregiving at home. Methods: Integrative literature review study. The search for articles in the Medline/PubMed, SciELO, and Virtual Health Library databases used the combinations of the descriptors "Coping," "Alzheimer's," "Strategies," and "Caregivers," and the Boolean operator "AND." Original articles, available in full, published between 2014 and 2024, and that answered the guiding question were included. Reviews, books, documents, and studies that did not meet the objective were excluded. Duplicate articles were considered only once. Results: The associations between the descriptors resulted in 182 publications, with 13 articles selected for meeting the previously established inclusion criteria. Coping strategies were grouped into three categories: religious coping, emotion-focused strategies, and problem-focused strategies. Conclusion: Emotion-focused strategies were the most used by caregivers as a way to reduce burden. The importance of nursing interventions is highlighted, such as burden assessment and caregiver support, as well as multidimensional assessment of the elderly person, aiming at promoting functionality and improving quality of life.