O PAPEL DOS CUIDADORES FRENTE AO ACOMETIMENTO DA CAPACIDADE FUNCIONAL EM IDOSOS APÓS ACIDENTE VASCULAR CEREBRAL: REVISÃO INTEGRATIVA

Abstract

Stroke is the second leading cause of death and one of the leading causes of long-term disability worldwide. Functional capacity is defined as a set of essential physical and mental skills to perform activities of daily living without assistance. As survival after stroke increases, it is expected that a greater number of individuals will have limitations to perform activities of daily living. This literature review aims to analyze the importance of caregivers in the face of impaired functional capacity in the elderly after a stroke. This is an integrative review, guided by the descriptors “Elderly”; "Stroke"; “Caregivers”; verified in Health Science Descriptors (DECS). The work was carried out by searching the scientific databases: Scielo, LILACS and Google Scholar. Scientific articles were included in Portuguese and English, published in journals between 2017 and 2022, which covered the theme proposed by the work and answered the guiding question. Experimental studies, dissertations, theses, duplicates and those that did not answer the investigative question were excluded. Thus, 114 articles were identified in Scielo, 70 in VHL and 46 in Google Scholar, making a total of 230 articles. It is possible to select 8 articles to compose the final sample of this integrative review. The analyzed data show that stroke has a great impact in the current scenario. Faced with the functional decline resulting from the stroke, there is a need for intensified care and attention, in this regard, the role of caregivers in the basic daily activities of the elderly becomes essential. Through this work, we seek the benefit of attributing greater relevance to the theme in view of its already established and proven importance and prevalence for medicine, society and the scientific community.