Representaciones Sociales del Cuidado y su Influencia en la Sobrecarga de Cuidadoras Informales de Pacientes con Cáncer de Pulmón

Abstract

Social representations can be understood as those structures by which individuals manage to order and understand the world; these can be codes, values, meanings, logics and principles that organize the individual's experiences. In the case of informal care, the meanings and understandings attributed to care can influence the way in which it is provided, and also have an impact on the overload that caregivers may experience. In the present research, those social representations about care attributed by informal caregivers of patients with lung cancer and their influence on overload will be identified, this through the application of the Zarit overload questionnaire and a semi-structured interview with 4 female participants, from a historical hermeneutic paradigm, a qualitative approach and a narrative design. After the application of the instrument and the interview, a content analysis is carried out through the ATLAS TI program, where a total of 122 codes related to the dimensions of social representations, information, attitude and representational field are identified. After this, 10 emerging categories are constructed that collect the most representative ideas found in the codes and it is recognized that factors such as economic support, the meanings attributed to the disease, professional and institutional support, having an emotional and consanguinity bond . and the loss of individual spaces influences the perception of overload in this population. Therefore, having a strong support network and the help of multidisciplinary professionals is essential for the well-being of caregivers.