Introduction:

Formal care offered to dependent old adults cannot be unlinked from the support which family members provide. In this sense, the care provided by health professionals converges with the informal care provided by family members, creating a holistic support to the old adult. Therefore, a greater knowledge on the degree of dependence of the old adult and on the characteristics of the informal care provided by the family members can contribute to a better care for these adults.

Objectives:

To assess the support provided by the family members of institutionalized old adults in a state of dependency, and describe the degree of this dependency.

Methods:

This is a descriptive and cut-exploratory study on institutionalized old adults in a state of dependency, from a region of northern Portugal. The sample was non-random rational (n = 111). The used questionnaire-instrument was organized in three areas: group I included the demographic characterization; the group II included the Barthel index, and the group III included the Family Support Perception Inventory.

Results:

It was evidenced that the majority of old adults always, or almost always, receive support from their families, which highlighted the dimension of Family Adaptation. The profile of the participants is characterized by a predominance of women with a severe or moderate degree of dependency.

Conclusions:

Institutionalized old adults in a state of dependency have support from their families. Though living separately, the continuity of affective links between these adults and their families was highlighted.