CHILDREN IN CONSERVATIVE RENAL TREATMENT: EXPERIENCES OF FAMILY CAREGIVERS

To understand the experience of the family caregiver of the child in conservative renal treatment. A qualitative study. Participants consisted of 11 family caregivers of children in conservative renal treatment in the South of Brazil, during the period of April to August of 2015. For the collection of the information, semi-structured interviews were carried out, whose data were recorded. For the analysis of the information, transcription of the interviews was used, codification, and organization of the categories according to the scholars. the data allowed the construction of five categories: discovering the disease, dealing with the disease, realization of the child’s health; living life for the child; and realizing the existence of support. the experience of family caregivers is related to affective, social, professional and economic changes.

This study provided an opportunity to understand the experience of family caregivers of children in conservative renal treatment, being understood as an experience that generates affective, social, professional and economic changes. Regarding affective changes, there may be an association with the divorces experienced by family caregivers and the abandonment of the children by the fathers, compromising the adjustment of the child’s health care. Concerning social aspects, they refer to the impossibility of carrying out leisure activities and the conviviality with family members and friends and attending daycare centers, since in many cases they need to carry out care that does not allow such activities or do not have a support network for the care, causing a fastidious overload on the caregiver. The change of professional order was related to the commitment of the family caregiver to the child’s health care, which prevents them from carrying out other paid activities. As for the economic aspects, they were due to professional and / or affective changes, since some caregivers were financially dependent on their spouses and after diagnosis of the child’s kidney disease, they began to count on the help of family, friends and assistance.

Understanding the experiences of the family caregiver directs primary health care nursing to contribute to the improvement of the quality of life of the family and children, since this study provided a voice to the participants, demonstrating the complexity of this experience, which requires a lot of from themselves and from all family members. The aspects related to the need for guidance for the family caregivers of children with renal disease can be overcome through support in the adaptation so that the adjustments with the new demands occur naturally. However, this will only be possible with family empowerment, or rather, family participation in decisions involving the health of children with kidney disease. This involvement values ​​it as a being, since professional knowledge is only one part of care. Learn more.