title: [Social representation of Alzheimer's disease for family caregivers: stressful and rewarding].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To understand the content of Social Representation (SR) of family caregivers of Alzheimer's disease patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Interviews were conducted with 26 caregivers and analyzed by the ALCESTE software.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The SR content was structured in two thematic axes called Daily Life and Care and Medical and Emotional Concepts and Outcomes. The first axis creates images related to the routine of interaction with the sick person, and contains a description of care procedures, experiences, and practices applied every day. The second is composed of subjective and conceptual aspects that make up the social representation of Alzheimer's disease, with meanings related to the emotional, medical, and biological contexts.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Due to the importance of topics related to patients' dependence and the personal and emotional consequences of the disease, overload is the main content of the SR of Alzheimer's disease for caregivers, and the understanding of these SR by health professionals should support the planning of interventions addressing this group of individuals.
authors.affiliation: Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Aline Duarte
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Folle
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Saúde Coletiva, Faculdade de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil.
authors.forename: Helena Eri
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Shimizu
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Farmácia, Faculdade de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil.
authors.forename: Janeth de Oliveira Silva
authors.initials: Jde O
authors.lastname: Naves
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000544:Alzheimer Disease; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D066252:Sociological Factors; D055815:Young Adult