Abstract
Background: In 2070, around 37.8% of the country's inhabitants will be older adults, indicating that population ageing is a current reality in Brazil.
Accompanying this population growth, the long-term care needs of the 60+ population are also increasing. In Brazil, this fact has been revealed by the number of Long-Term Institutions for older adults, which has also increased significantly in recent years, going from 3,549 LTCF in 2010 to 7,029 in 2021.
The risk of dehydration increases in older people, and with the demographic growth of this population internationally, more people are at risk of developing this condition.
Dehydration is a widespread problem in older adults and causes about 1.35 million deaths every year worldwide. The impact of climate change compounds this fact.
The study aimed to understand the context of Long-Term Institutions in Brazil regarding hydration, including the knowledge of professionals in different aspects of the topic, the impacts of current practices, and the challenges encountered. The aim is to provide an understanding of the needs and barriers in the hydration process in LTCF and contribute to developing effective strategies in these spaces.
Approach: This quantitative and qualitative study, guided by the action research framework, was developed using Brazilian LTCF mapped by the National Front for Strengthening LTCF. According to the FN ILPI, Brazil has 7,029 existing LTCFs.
The study participants were managers and professionals from LTCFs directly involved in hydration and care for older adults. The technique used in data production was an electronic form made available by Google Forms. The snowball strategy was used to publicise the form by sending the link to WhatsApp groups, totalling 900 people nationwide.
In the qualitative stage, three focus group sessions were held with LTCF managers and professionals from Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, and Bahia.
Results: The professionals demonstrated knowledge of the importance and benefits of hydration, while the daily amount required was somewhat fragile. Older people's clinical conditions, lack of financial, material, and personnel resources, family, polypharmacy, and high temperatures were some barriers identified as limiting. It was possible to gain knowledge about the main points of difficulties and similarities between LTCF and the knowledge and strategies of the institutions in hydrating older adults, making it possible to propose effective alternatives to face the challenges encountered.
Implications: The research enabled a greater understanding of the hydration of older adults in LTCFs in Brazil, learning about the main points of difficulty and the similarities between LTCFs. From this, future studies can analyze the main points and formulate practical actions to improve hydration in older people. It is possible to propose strategies to face obstacles among institutions in Brazil, which are facing several challenges in hydrating residents and providing opportunities for improvement. It is expected to increase the topic's visibility so the subject can be discussed more, and a more significant number of studies on the subject will be conducted to understand each resident's difficulties and particularities so that specific interventions can be planned to minimize dehydration.