Practices used by a home care team: implications for caregivers

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Sociology
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Home care services rely heavily on the performance of informal and formal caregivers.
• Understanding the dynamics between healthcare teams and caregivers is crucial for optimizing patient care and support.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the practices of a home care team.
• To investigate the implications of these practices on caregiver performance and subjectification.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative study employing direct observation of users, caregivers, and healthcare professionals.
• Discourse analysis, informed by Foucault's theories, was used for data interpretation.

Main Results:

• Home care team practices involve disciplinary, prescriptive, and surveilling behaviors that impact caregivers.
• The team's knowledge-power relationship influences caregiver acceptance of orientations.
• Educational practices are identified as a means to foster caregiver empowerment and critical reflection.

Conclusions:

• Home care team practices directly interfere with caregivers' actions and sense of self.
• These team dynamics have significant implications for the objectification and subjectification of caregivers within the healthcare system.