Health
Such care, what caregivers
Book guides those responsible for processing
of a relative suffering from a chronic illness
Maria Alice da Cruz
There are many surprises for a layman who, suddenly, because of an accident of any origin, finds himself responsible for the cure or treatment of a relative who is a victim of a chronic illness. A mix of feelings surprises the companion who until then felt capable of donating his life for others. There are many concerns mentioned by doctor Jamiro da Silva Wanderley, from Hospital das Clínicas da Unicamp (HC), one of the authors of the book Guidelines for informal caregivers in home care, launched at the 17th São Paulo Book Biennial, on May 1st, by Editora da Unicamp.
The publication is the result of a series of courses promoted by a multidisciplinary team from the Faculty of Medical Sciences (FCM), in order to guide the daily lives of family caregivers, home companions, health professionals and philanthropic entities. According to Wanderley, the expectation is that the publication will reach a wider audience than that already achieved in the courses.
The first concern experienced by the new caregiver, according to Wanderley, is linked to being underestimated due to feeling unable to fulfill their role. Generally speaking, a person who suddenly goes from being a relative to being a caregiver is not always prepared to face such a situation. All these conditions imposed by nature led organizers Jamiro da Silva Wanderley, Ernesta Lopes Ferreira Dias and Roberto Teixeira Mendes to bring together texts from professionals with vast experience for publication.
The book can be a companion for home caregivers who want to know more about their patient's illness. The texts offer everything from legislative and organizational information to lessons on primary prevention – which prevents diseases – and secondary – which involves special care to prevent the patient's health from worsening. The information is provided to the reader in simple, easily accessible language. In most texts, the procedures are explained step by step, as if it were a special care manual.
In addition to Wanderley, social workers Mariângela Ceschini, Patrícia Brant Mourão Teixeira Mendes and Ernesta Lopes Ferreira Dias participate in the edition; psychiatrist Neury José Botega; the physiatrist Jairo Sérgio Szrajer, the master in physiotherapy Maria Ângela Gonçalves de Oliveira Ribeiro and the pediatrician Roberto Teixeira Mendes.
Women are the majority
Research published by social worker Patrícia Brant Mourão Teixeira Mendes in Guidelines for informal caregivers in home care shows that 92,9% of caregivers are female, with 39,2% being wives, followed by daughters, with 31,3%. Patrícia states that, culturally, women assume the role of companion as another task pertinent to the domestic sphere. Patrícia's text allows us to reflect on the caregiver's profile.
Reality often borders on irritation. Especially in cases where the patient can do some things alone. According to Wanderley, many people assisted end up demanding attention from their companion when he is absent. In the doctor's opinion, it is necessary, in some cases, for the caregiver to take time for themselves. To do this, it would be necessary to involve other people in assisting the patient. "It's good to have a rotation between family members so as not to overload one person", recommends the doctor. In some cases, according to Wanderley, curators need psychological support. "There are times when I would like to do something for myself. There are times when I want to do something to relieve myself", reveals the curator who preferred to remain anonymous.
The Course for Caregivers is in its 6th edition, to be held on June 20th and 21st, in Amphitheater 1 of the FCM classrooms. 150 places are available. Registration is free and can be done at the HC Social Service Secretariat, in the Department of Internal Medicine, by calling (19) 3788-7250, 3788-7460 and 3788-8014.
SERVICE
Guidelines for informal caregivers in home care
Organizers:
Enesta Lopes Ferreira Dias, Jamiro da Silva Wanderley and Roberto Teixeira Mendes
142 pages -- R$ 12,00
Unicamp Publisher
Telephones: 3788-7783/3788-7786
Launch
Non-formal education for lay people
Non-formal education became part of the curriculum for students at the Faculty of Education and is part of the 316 pages of a book published by Editora da Unicamp. Non-formal education: scenarios of creation contains articles from a range of professionals who in their careers contribute as researchers, observers and creators of informal education projects. The objective is to guide the demand for volunteers who are willing to develop or participate in social projects, filling the idle time of the elderly and, mainly, children and adolescents who are children of workers.
The authors' concern when deciding to publish the book was that most people dedicated to the area are not pedagogues. Hence, the need to guide volunteers and encourage university students in the area to occupy this space. At Unicamp, to a large extent, non-formal education is the subject of mandatory internship studies, in response to a demand made by the students themselves to be able to carry out projects in the informal area of education. By coming into contact with the projects and classes of the professor at the Faculty of Education and coordinator of the Memory Center at Unicamp Olga von Simson, one of the organizers of the collection, students of the discipline came to know and analyze institutions that identified themselves as a space for education not -formal. "When we went to see, they were high fences, which surrounded a school reinforcement space", comments Olga.
The street is certainly not the ideal place to house students who are children of workers when they are not at school. But it is necessary to be careful not to exceed the limits of children and adolescents by forcing them to participate in projects created in fact to be an extension of what is learned in formal education. Games and games can be a good option, believes Olga von Simson. "No child tolerates more than 8 hours of classes", she assesses. It is in this context that true non-formal education projects emerge, respecting the child's right to experience play, to educate themselves by playing, playing games, learning music, computers, using their body, among many other options that exist for education. "It is through toys that children develop to be very literate", she warns. "The child's work is the play", she reinforces.
The true non-formal space, in Olga's view, should allow the participant to discuss issues that arise for them in their everyday lives. This reality was experienced in Projeto Sol, one of the programs highlighted by Olga, created and maintained by Paulínia City Hall until 1999. In the arena, at the beginning of each meeting, a conversation circle was held, a moment in which children and teenagers, for an hour and a half, they had the opportunity to expose and discuss all the problems or activities carried out the previous day, from TV programs to school routine. After the discussions, participants were free to use all the equipment to play, discover and, in fact, live their childhood.
Olga is dedicated to guiding work that assists children and adolescent students at risk – whether they are behind in school in relation to their age or who have suffered many failures – belonging to lower classes. She found inspiration in the initiative of samba school groups in the city of São Paulo, where she developed her master's project. During the period when there were no rehearsals, the leaders used their courts to offer crafts, fine arts and percussion workshops to the children of members.
For Olga von Simson, the non-formal education space is capable of making up for a very common loss for children from lower classes, who are forced to participate early in the family budget: the loss of childhood. And she explains: "From childhood as a time of play, a time of dreams, a time of development, imagination and everything else. (M.A,C.)
SERVICE
Non-formal education - creation scenarios
Organizers:
Olga Rodrigues de Moraes von Simson, Margareth Brandini and Renata Sieiro Fernandes
316 pages - R$ 39,00
Unicamp Publisher
Telephones: 3788-7783/3788-7786
Unicamp Memory Center
(19) 3289-3441/3788-7846
