[Home care for the chronically ill: a self-care health system].

This article focuses on home care for chronically ill adults and seniors. According to our thesis, home care should be understood as a self-care system, and its aim is to guarantee the individual's social and bodily survival. Home care consists of three areas, related to illness, the home, and to life history. Caregiving, usually under women's responsibility, is present throughout the history of the illness and the health-seeking process. The article analyzes these issues in light of the ageing process, the epidemiological changes occurring worldwide, and the urgency to incorporate this analysis into the heath care research agenda.