Family in the experience of multiprofessional team care for elderly residents of a Therapeutic Residential Service.
Aldair Weber, Giulia Delfini, Joaquim Manuel de Oliveira Lopes and 1 others
PMID 41686922WHAT IT FOUND
Most older residents had absent or broken family ties, so staff became emotional references and some residents built new family-like bonds.
Teams wanted coordinated care with family and other services, and saw residence care as a last option.
Key findings
01Professionals reported that most residents lacked family support, and only a few could return to family.
02Staff often saw themselves as family for residents, while saying they could not replace actual family during frailty and illness.
03When family ties remained, participants emphasized coordinating care with family and other services; residents also built non-blood family-like bonds.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study interviewed staff members, not residents or families, so it reports their perceptions rather than patient outcomes. It was done in a municipality in São Paulo state, so the themes may not transfer to other services. Recruitment was through referrals and the analysis relied mainly on the principal researcher, which may limit breadth. The work reports qualitative themes, not effects of care.
Declared interests
The study reports financial support from CAPES. The supplied text does not state author conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that staff should replace family or that this care improves outcomes. It is interviews with staff about their experiences, and the authors warn that professionals must be careful when they see residents as family members.