Ocupações cotidianas e a sobrecarga do cuidado familiar junto à criança com autismo: estudo de caso com uma profissional da atenção primária à saúde

Abstract

Primary Health Care (PHC) concerns the first level of health care, it is the preferred entry point into the Unified Health System (SUS). In this way, the health professional who works in Primary Care meets different needs in the territory, which makes the care process a challenge. This care role is intensified when you are a female health professional, as you deal with the care demands of primary care and the feminization of care demands, which can trigger overload. The objective of this study was to identify and understand the daily occupations and the level of overload of family caregivers of children with autism who are professionals in Primary Health Care. This research is qualitative in nature with a narrative approach, a semi-structured interview guide was used to understand the daily occupations, as well as a scale to measure the level of overload. The resulting thematic categories were: 1- Daily overload; 2- The interference of family care in health work; 3- Psychological suffering and caregiver overload. It was possible to identify that the caregiver's daily occupations are strictly the routine of caring for the autistic child, work, domestic tasks and taking care of the children. Furthermore, through the application of the scale, a high level of overload was found. Therefore, it is concluded that the care process performed by females leads to the accumulation of occupational roles. Furthermore, this factor linked to the care of an autistic child significantly interferes with the full performance of daily occupations, due to the demand for necessary care, resulting in impacts on mental health.