Introduction:

Living as much and as well as possible is interpreted as an achievement of modern society in the economic and social public policies; however, it is also a source of conflicts.

Objective:

To know the perceptions of elderly people or their caregivers on the communication in nursing care in the community where they are assisted.

Material and Method:

A qualitative study was conducted. The historical-logical method was used and six elderly people and five caregivers were interviewed. The information was literally transcribed and the speeches were encoded. The information related to age, schooling, elderly coexistence and communication in nursing care was collected.

Results:

Elements of mediation that favor the communication or not and the difficulties in the communication process between family members, caregivers and nurses were identified. The main care providers are women who are family members caring for elderly people that are involved in domestic and caring tasks, which reduces the time dedicated to communication.

Conclusions:

The need for a new look at communication as a key element in elderly care is assessed from a social and health point of view considering that women tend to perform tasks that are invisible and little recognized socially, which reinforces gender inequalities in the use of time and the care provided during aging.

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