[Profile of the caregiver of dependent elderly family members in a home environment in the city of Porto, Portugal].

This descriptive research aims to identify the profile of the family caregiver using the World Health Organization's QPFC and WHOQOL-Bref (instrument application methods) in a sample of 120 family caregivers of dependent elderly patients who represented the population of three Healthcare Centers in the area of the Great Porto, Portugal. Data were collected in the period between January 2005 and March 2005. Results indicated that female caregivers with 55 years of average age, who had other family care giving duties besides caring for the elderly family member, were the majority. The circumstances surrounding care giving, in the perspective of the elderly patient and the other family demands, generated negative consequences to the caregiver's life and health. However, at the same time, caregivers expressed positive perceptions and rewarding feelings when caring for the elderly family member. In a nutshell, it is essential for nurses to consider the binomial caregiver and dependent elderly patient, since both demand special healthcare attention from healthcare services.