Corresponsabilidad Familiar en el Cuidado de los Adultos Mayores, Vinculados a la Asociación San Vicente de Paúl, Cantón Santa Isabel, Ecuador, año 2025

Abstract

The present research titled Family Co-responsibility in the Care of Older Adults Linked to the San Vicente de Paúl Association, Santa Isabel Canton, Ecuador, Year 2025, identified the absence of family co-responsibility in the care of older adults as the central problem, which affects their well-being and violates their fundamental rights, specifically the right to a dignified life, personal integrity, and a life free from violence. The general objective consisted of analyzing the practices of family co-responsibility in the care of older adults of the San Vicente de Paúl Association, in Santa Isabel, Ecuador, during the year 2025. A methodology with a qualitative approach, phenomenological design, and descriptive scope was used, and data collection was carried out through in-depth interviews applied to seventeen participants, including older adults, family members, and volunteers. The results evidenced that co-responsibility practices were mostly instrumental and economic, guaranteeing subsistence; however, marked affective deficiencies were identified, which the Association compensated for through accompaniment; it was concluded that family co-responsibility practices proved to be insufficient, demonstrating that the fulfillment of material needs does not guarantee a dignified old age if emotional abandonment and the lack of human warmth persist.