Rita Taipina Marques

Caring Space
Portugal

Abstract Title:

A Gerontologist’s Perspective on Longevity, Emotional Burden, and Care in Portugal

Biography:

Gerontologist with professional experience in residential care, day centers, and home support services in Portugal. Holds a Master’s degree in Continuous and Palliative Care. Founder of an innovative home care project focused on longevity, prevention, and humanized care. Trainer in gerontology, delivering education on a wide range of topics related to aging. Representative of a Spanish foundation dedicated to training, awareness, implementation, and certification of dignified, restraint-free care practices. Author of the book Guia de Boas Práticas para Cuidadores. Master’s thesis focused on caregivers’ perceptions of dignity in care.

Research Interests:

Population aging in Portugal has intensified over recent decades, placing the country among the most aged in Europe. While increased longevity represents a major societal achievement, it also exposes structural, emotional, and ethical gaps in how aging is understood and supported. From a gerontological perspective, aging in Portugal continues to be approached predominantly through a biomedical and task-oriented lens, often overlooking subjective experiences such as loneliness, identity loss, emotional suffering, and existential distress. This work offers a critical, practice-based reflection on aging and longevity in the Portuguese context, drawing on field experience in residential care, day centers, and home support services. It highlights the tension between longevity and quality of life, emphasizing that longer life does not necessarily equate to meaningful or dignified aging. Particular attention is given to often “invisible” dimensions of aging, including caregiver emotional overload, anticipatory grief, resistance behaviors, and loss of autonomy. These aspects remain under-recognized, contributing to depersonalization and standardized care practices. This presentation advocates for a shift toward a humanized, person-centered, and preventive care model. It underscores the importance of narrative-based approaches, emotional literacy, and multidisciplinary coordination. Ultimately, it calls for rethinking aging as a deeply personal and social experience requiring ethical sensitivity, professional reflection, and systemic transformation.