Nursing process: a tool for the care to the elderly person with Alzheimer s Disease

Objective: to apply the Nursing Care Systematization (NCS) to a patient with Alzheimer's disease under the perspective of Wanda Horta. Methodology: this is a case study with qualitative approach carried out on February and June 2010. Its subjects were an elderly woman with Alzheimer's disease and her caregiver. For the data collection eight home visits were held, in which the nursing care procedures were systematized. The study was approved by the Committee of Ethics in Research Involving Human Subjects of the Universidade Estadual Vale do Acaraú in Sobral, Ceará, Brazil, under the CAAE 2534.0.000.039-10. Results: with the information collected, three categories emerged: Network of interpersonal ties, where the subjects genogram and genomap were presented, discussing the family structure and the relationships involved; Approach to the informal caregiver, focusing on the responsibility of taking care of the elderly person; and taking care under the light of Wanda Horta, applying NCS to the elderly woman, outlining a caring process according to the needs observed. Conclusion: the participation of nurses in the care to patients with Alzheimer’s disease allows the care to be not carried out in an empirical basis by caregivers, but with efficiency, aiming to the provide quality of life to the carrier of this disease and to her/his family members. Descriptors: nursing assistance; elderly person; Alzheimer’s disease.