[Unveiling the routine of informal caregivers for the elderly]

This article intends to describe how the informal caregivers interpret and build their daily routine. It is a qualitative study using dialectics as the theoretical-methodological framework. The instrument for data colection was individual interviews with five caregivers for elderly in homes in the Family Health Program, in Montes Claros, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. The results demonstrated adverse situations faced by caregivers in terms of suffering and sacrifice in providing care and a lack of support meeting the needs of the caregivers and those receiving care. However, they provided care with love and dedication using faith and spirituality in search of bio-psychosocial balance. It is recommended that health workers should have a respectful and cooperative approach to the work of these informal caregivers for the elderly.