ABSTRACT
Objective:
To reveal experiences of family caregivers of hospitalized elderly individuals, having Merleau Ponty's phenomenology and the notion of intercorporeality as theoretical-philosophical reference.
Methods:
A phenomenological study was conducted with five accompanying family members of hospitalized elderly at a public hospital in the state of Bahia, Northeastern Brazil, in March 2014. The experiences were produced by two rounds of conversation, recorded and submitted to the technique of analytics of ambiguity.
Results:
By understanding the descriptions of experiences, the category arose: The experience of the other myself in the relationships of care between family members and hospitalized elderly.
Conclusion:
We understand that care, as it is subjective and dynamic, allows the experience of ambiguities, resulting in transcendence, both for accompanying family members and hospitalized elderly individuals. Thus, the hospitalization context provides opportunities of intercorporeality that can lead to new meanings of life and relationships.
Keywords:
Aged; Hospitalization; Caregivers; Family relations