PREVIEW NOTES

Family care for children with asthma: a descriptive study

Neila Santini de Souza¹, Eliane Tatsch Neves², Regina Issuzu Hirooka de Borba³

¹Federal University of Pampa
²Federal University of Santa Maria
³Federal University of São Paulo

ABSTRACT
Aim: To understand how family caregivers take care of children suffering from asthma.
Method: This is a descriptive study in which we used a qualitative approach which uses the Creative Sensitive Method that was developed in the Children's Program for the Prevention of Asthma in the municipality of Uruguaiana, RS. For the data production within the group of relatives, three Dynamics of Creativity and Sensitivity (DCS) shall be used: Body Knowledge, Speaking Map and Sewing Stories. The data produced will be submitted to the French discourse analysis approach.
Descriptors: Asthma; Caregivers; Child; Nursing.

PROBLEM SITUATION AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE

Asthma is an extremely common chronic inflammatory disease among children and adolescents around the world. It is an important public health problem in Brazil, and its prevalence has been increasing in recent years. Research results point to an increase of 1% per annum among children and adolescents in Brazil between 1998 and 2008⁽¹⁾. It presents significant morbidity, which is a negative consequence for children and their families. Nursing professionals must recognize the difficulties that the families of these children have in providing healthcare for the child, and can contribute by promoting their autonomy in care, empowering them in terms of social control, and developing new public health policies that will benefit these users. The need for taking charge of care in the household, highlights the importance of subjectivity in interpersonal relationships as well as the importance of knowledge exchange between users and health professionals. It is also essential to maintain the expectations and beliefs of each caregiver⁽²⁾. Asthma is a chronic non-transmissible disease that is important from an epidemiological perspective, and it has been the focus of strategic action on the part of the Ministry of Health in Brazil since 2011. This study is important in terms of the importance in knowing the real situation of homecare provided by family caregivers, presenting itself as a knowledge gap within this research theme. Thus, the care provided by families with regard to children with asthma, was defined as the object of this study.

GUIDING QUESTIONS

How is health care provided by family members for children with asthma?
Are there difficulties involved in providing this caring?
What support networks exist outside the family context?

AIMS

General Aims
To understand how family caregivers develop the care of children with asthma.

Specific Aims
To describe the care provided by family caregivers of children with asthma;
To identify the support network for children with asthma and their family caregivers in the community context;
To understand the implications of being a family caregiver of children with asthma.

METHOD

This is descriptive research in which we used a qualitative approach. It is research in progress, that uses the Creative-Sensitive Method with twelve family caregivers of children with asthma who are involved in a Children's Program for the Prevention of Asthma in Uruguaiana/RS. This program works in a children's polyclinic of the municipal health department. Inclusion criteria: to be the family caregiver of a child with asthma, who was present at follow-up visits or return consultations in the last three months. Exclusion criteria: to be the caregiver of child over five years of age. For the data production, the Creative Sensitive Method (CSM) will be used. The data will be produced, transcribed and analyzed using the Creativity and Sensitivity Dynamics (CSD) that are the structural axis of the CSM⁽³⁾, during the second half of 2012 and the first half of 2013. The CSD chosen to be applied in this study are Body Knowledge, Speaking Map and Sewing Stories. The CSM is a method for generating group data which emerge from the CSDs. These ones combine data collection consolidated techniques as part of the qualitative research, such as collective interviews, group discussions and participant observations to produce data within the group in a dynamic, dialogical and interactional way⁽³⁾. In the CSDs there is an opportunity to exercise the critical and reflective thinking of the co-participants in the research during the process of artistic creation. In the discussion we will adopt, as a theoretical reference, Paulo Freire’s Liberating Theory on the perspective of the capacity of individuals to look after a child with asthma. The data will be submitted to discourse analysis in its French current. It is hoped that the study will contribute to nursing care, in view of the inclusion of the family in care, as well as for the development of public policies that will foster access to health services for children suffering from asthma and for their families.

REFERENCES

1. Wehrmeister FC, Menezes AMB, Cascaes AM, Martínez-Mesa J, Barros AJD. Time trend of asthma in children and adolescents in Brazil, 1998-2008. Rev saúde pública [ Internet ]. 2012 Apr [ cited  2013  Jan  22 ]  46(2): 242-50. Available from: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0034

2. Paiva RS, Valadares GV, Pontes JS. The need to become family caregivers: qualitative study focusing on the theory based on data. Online braz j nurs [ Internet ]. 2012 Dec [ cited 2013 Jan 22 ] 11(3):607-20. Available from: http://www.objnursing.uff.br/index.php/nursing/article/view/3638

3. Neves ET, Cabral IE, Silveira A. Family network of children with special health needs: implications for Nursing. Rev latinoam enfermagem [ Internet ]. 2013 Mar [ cited 2013 June 12 ] 21(2):562-70. Available from: http://www.scielo.br/pdf/rlae/v21n2/0104-1169-rlae-21-02-0562.pdf 

Project Data: PhD project (Interinstitutional Doctorate - INTERD) linked to the Postgraduate Program in Nursing, Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP), approved on August 16, 2012 by the Board: Regina Issuzu Hirooka de Borba (President/UNIFESP), Eliane Tatsch Neves (UFSM), Ana Lucia de Moraes Horta (UNIFESP), Elisa da Conceição Rodrigues (UFRJ/EEAN). The project is currently in progress.
Approval at the REC: The project was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Federal University of São Paulo/ São Paulo Hospital, under number 116.073 in 2012.
Financial support: PhD scholarship of the Call for promoting CAPES/INTERD Novas Fronteiras/2009 and the resources of the Edital/2012 UNIPAMPA of the Scholarship Program of the Academic Development (SPAD).
Mailine address: BR 472, Km 592, Caixa Postal 118, Uruguaiana, RS. CEP: 97500-970.
E-mail: neilasantini25@gmail.com

Authors and their participation in the research

Neila Santini de Souza – she participated in the preparation, collection and structuring of the previous note of the research.
Regina Issuzu Hirooka de Borba – she participated in the guidance and structuring of the previous note.
Eliane Tatsch Neves – she participated in the guidance and structuring of the previous note.

Received: 23/01/2013
Revised: 09/06/2013
Approved: 25/06/2013