Objectives: to understand the meaning of aging for caregivers of senile elderly people.
Methods: qualitative study carried out with 12 caregivers of elderly people registered in the Home Care Service, adopting the Explanatory Model of Kleinman's Disease as a theoretical framework. Data were collected from April to June 2019, through semi-structured, audio-recorded interviews, carried out at home and submitted to content analysis.
Results: taking care of senile elderly people triggers reflections on aging that sometimes lead to a new meaning of this process, besides stimulating the recognition of the factors that influence it, with emphasis on the life history, occupation and deleterious behaviors adopted throughout life.
Final considerations: the care experience influences the meaning attributed to aging, favoring: the identification of modifiable and non-modifiable aspects and behaviors that make it healthy; reflection on aging itself, with a new meaning of habits and behaviors to be adopted.