Representations of caretakers about attention in schizophrenia

Abstract

The Psychiatric Reform Movement has created a new actor that emerged in Mental Health Care in Brazil: the caregiver, a person that now should be considered in order to achieve a full and effective therapeutic process. This work tries to understand the social representations of caregivers of schizophrenia patients that look for attention in Centers for Psychosocial Health Care (CAPS) in Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Semi-structured interviews were made with 15 caregivers of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia that seek the services of the Center in the city of Lagoa da Prata. Analyzing the speech of the interviewees three categories were identified: the deinstitutionalization, the attention given by a multidisciplinary team and the drug treatment. It is concluded that health professionals should implement practices in order to inform and integrate the caregiver in the process of attention, welcoming their participation.