Résumé
Nowadays, the aging of the population and the increase of the number of elderly people are important socioeconomic and health issues. Dependent elderly people receive assistance with their activities of daily living from caregivers.Their institutionalization occurs when they lose their autonomy and experience a decline in their general health, making it impossible for them to remain at home. While the institutionalization of elderly people represents a significant change in the life of their caregivers, the reasons behind this and the ways in which it impacts them remain unclear. Objective: to understand the impact of institutionalization of dependent elderly people aged 80 and over in establishments in the county Pyrénées-Orientales on their caregivers.Method: a qualitative study, involving semi-directed individual interviews with caregivers. A phenomeno-semio-pragmatic analysis was performed on the verbatims until data saturation was reached.Results: 13 interviews were analyzed. Institutionalization becomes the only protection solution when the caregiver’s and/or professionals’ support is no longer sufficient to meet the elderly people's everyday needs. Institutionalization represents a turning point in the caregiver-loved one relationship and the caregiver’s daily role. Institutionalization raises ambivalent feelings in the caregiver. Institutionalization offers an opportunity for caregivers to share their experience with others and to reflect their own future and that of their loved one.Conclusion: institutionalization impacts the caregiver’s role, his relationship with his loved one, and his own life. The impact can evolve throughout the institutionalization. Adequate support, especially psychological, administrative, and financial support, is necessary for caregivers after the institutionalization of their loved one.