ESTRATEGIAS DE AFRONTAMIENTO Y NIVELES DE ESTRÉS EN CUIDADORES DE ADULTOS MAYORES CON DISCAPACIDAD FÍSICA DE LA UNIDAD DE ATENCIÓN GERONTOLÓGICA CARITA FELIZ DE LA COMUNIDAD DEL CERRITO, CANTÓN ROCAFUERTE.

Abstract

The care of older adults with physical disabilities implies serious responsibilities for the people in charge of covering the unavoidable basic needs that arise. Caregivers face physical and psychological difficulties increasing stress levels; hence, they must exhibit personal and professional resources to face such labor role in terms of fruitful effectiveness; This is when we talk about coping strategies. In this striking scenario, the research was developed whose main objective was: To determine the coping strategies and stress levels in caregivers of older adults with physical disabilities of the Carita Feliz Gerontological Care Unit of the "El Cerrito" community of the Rocafuerte canton. For this purpose, 20 caregivers of older adults with physical disabilities were selected. The approach used was quantitative and among the recurring methods are the exploratory, analytical-synthetic; As techniques, tests and surveys were applied to identify the level of stress of caregivers of older adults with physical disabilities, related to job performance. At the end of the investigation, it is concluded that caregivers seek spiritual and professional help, social support and/or help from close friends, thus using emotion-focused coping strategies to mitigate stress; others seek relaxing diversions, fixate on the positive in the situation, focus on solving the problem, and/or look for physical distractions thus using avoidance and functional strategies; Also, others blame themselves for the situation, ignore the problem, do nothing and/or worry, thus using dysfunctional strategies. It is worth pointing out that, in the face of stress, a caregiver can use more than one type of coping to help them with adequate stress management. For its part, the results of the perceived stress scale show that most of those involved get stressed from time to time, noting that the stress developed during the work exercise is managed. adequately.