A dor invisível de quem cuida do outro [recurso eletrônico] : contribuições para a reflexão em Terapia Ocupacional acerca da saúde mental de cuidadores informais de pessoas com sofrimento mental

Abstract

Many people believe that living well is having quality of life, and this term is associated with a variety of aspects, which can be cognitive or physiological. The act of taking care of oneself and others requires a lot of dedication, responsibility and organization, so that there is no overload of activities. This is an integrative review of the Brazilian scientific production on the mental health of Informal Caregivers of people with mental suffering as a contribution to reflection on Occupational Therapy, seeking to highlight Brazilian and international productions from 2001 to 2021, located in the SciELOBrazil, LILACS and other databases such as each/USP, Unimeds and Editora Realize. After applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 45 studies were found, 14 titles were selected for this review. The sample found was divided into thematic categories according to the approach, which were "the act of caring", "informal caregivers", "the health of informal caregivers" and "the informal caregivers' burden". In the analyzed material it was evidenced significant indexes of: overload, significant worsening of the caregiver's quality of life, lack of family support, lack of information, and lack of preparation for care. It is concluded that the theme must be deepened, especially in occupational therapy, considering that the territorial based mental health services bet on the family support networks as potent pillars for their organization.