Resumen

VAQUIRO RODRIGUEZ, Sandra  y  STIEPOVICH BERTONI, Jasna. INFORMAL CARE CHALLENGE ASSUMED BY WOMEN. Cienc. enferm. [online]. 2010, vol.16, n.2, pp. 17-24. ISSN 0717-9553.  doi: 10.4067/S0717-95532010000200002.

The family is the first institution to generate dependency care in situations where it is the woman who provides invisibly and continuous care. This transfer of responsibilities of health care from the state to the family, it is necessary to make visible as social problems, policies are enacted with gender inequities to identify corrections that provide traditional cultural stereotypes in domestic work, as is highlight the need for increased nursing intervention to support informal care. In this paper, we review the literature on informal care in regard to gender inequity in health care in Chile. This enables conclude that there is the feminization of informal care as a paradigm of disadvantages, efforts, sacrifices on the gender inequalities that lead to unnecessary, avoidable and unfair. The emerging need to implement strategies from all aspects: political, social, health and cultural as well as generate knowledge for the development of the Science of Nursing Care showing a continuation of informal care in the private sphere invisible economic contribution of the health system. Self-care behaviors are proposed in relation to risk the health of the caregiver, given the burden of care and the importance for nursing as knowing, being and doing in care.

Palabras clave : Informal care; gender; inequity; nursing care.