Continuing care

case study of a unit convalescent

Abstract

The continuing care consists essentially in the articulation among the different types of service, the continuity of care, the multidisciplinary action and the priority on keeping the person at his/her home. It is in this context that we propose, using the example of the Convalescence unit of the Misericórdia of Póvoa de Lanhoso, Private Institution of Social Solidarity (IPSS), to present an Institution with an organization that satisfies, in our opinion, the philosophy proposed for the units of continuing care. As instrument for data collection, the semistructured interview, whose content was analysed from the perspective of Bardin, was used. Four informants from the studied Unit, native of the managing areas, clinical and non-clinical practice, were interviewed in April 2010. In addition to the interviews, other sources of information were used, such as the literature, the Portuguese legislation concerning the area and the field observation done in three different moments. Nevertheless, the study is methodologically identified as a study case. This methodology was chosen due to the existence of situational variables, which transform each organisation in a single entity.

The results obtained indicate the following categories: Quality Management, Leadership, Humanized/holistic Care, Training and professional Development. These categories emphasize the importance of this Private Institution of Social Solidarity’s (IPSS) contribution to the populations’ health, highlighting the crucial role of humanization of the organization, working, structure, processes and relationships. Although the idea that generalised inequities persist in the health care sector, we believe that this unit could be used as a deconstructive example of that reality and also as a model towards the excellence of care.