Vivências de famílias de crianças com câncer no contexto amazônico

Abstract

The diagnosis of cancer is a disorganizing moment in the child's life and also in the lives of those who live with him or her, the reactions can be disastrous for the child and their families, leading them to emotional imbalances, insecurity, guilt, fear, and symptoms of depression. Identifying the family system, that is, the family as a complex phenomenon, which demands support among its members, to deal with a particular disease situation, can be the first step towards raising awareness and reflection on the importance and care of the family for the nursing. Family nursing research has contributed to new care experiences, which implies a reflection on new possibilities for nurses / family interaction in different scenarios and contexts. OBJECTIVES: To identify the structure, development and standard of functioning of the children's families with cancer in the region of Amazonia/Belém/Pará, by applying the Calgary Family Assessment Model (MCAF); to describe the children's families history with cancer according to the MCAF in the Amazonian context; to describe the expectations of the children's family members with cancer in relation to the participation of the nurse in the care of the child and his / her family. METHODOLOGY: A descriptive and exploratory study with a qualitative approach, used as a theoretical and methodological reference, the Calgary Family Assessment Model. It was developed in the city of Belém-PA, in a reference hospital in pediatric oncology. The study included 05 families of children diagnosed with cancer who were being treated in the hospitalization sector. A semistructured interview technique was performed, whose sessions were recorded and transcribed entirety, avoiding the loss or misrepresentation of the information. The analysis of thematic content was carried out in the light of the MCAF in three categories: structural, developmental and functional evaluation, presented through the Genogram and Ecomapa through the statements of each family interviewed. RESULTS: From the experiences of caring for the child with cancer we verified that the families experienced significant changes and problems of several magnitudes that came to compromise some relationships in the internal and external structure of the families. The Calgary Family Assessment Model allowed us to observe a scientific and systematic structure, through its categories of family assessment, because it helped us to gather information, which gave us support in the construction of the Genogram and Ecomapa in a way that allowed a broader and more significant view of the family structure. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS: The child and his/her family need a qualified and systematized assistance in order to enable paths that foster feelings of hope, security and confidence regarding the treatment and consequently aiming a satisfactory prognosis, so we emphasize the need for new studies related to the family, especially the applicability of the Calgary Family Intervention Model (MCIF), in order to deepen and make possible new dimensions, giving to family nursing new collaborations of great scientific relevance.