A comunicação terapêutica entre enfermeiros e familiares de crianças e neonatos internados na unidade de terapia intensiva

Abstract

Introduction: the Intensive Care Unit environment is a place of great anguish for the family. The nurse, the main representative of the care offered, prioritizes child care and recognizes the need to include the family. Communication emerges as a tool that permeates care, but also as a way of caring for and supporting the family. Objective: to understand how nurses who work in this environment understand therapeutic communication and carry it out in their practice in the relationship with the family. Method: descriptive and field qualitative research, used therapeutic communication (TC) as a theoretical framework, and the Interpretative Description method. The study was carried out with nurses from the pediatric and neonatal intensive care unit selected using the Bola de Neve technique. For data collection, a semi-structured interview was used, initially carried out face-to-face and, later, with the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic through video call. Data analysis took place in an inductive way, avoiding pre-determined analyses, and with periods of immersion in the field and in the data, it was possible to apprehend the whole, without discarding the particularities. Results: through 21 interviews, the research brought as a result the understanding of TC for the nurse, being used mainly to inform and clarify, using clear language, but also communication in the way of relating, supporting and caring . The reports showed that communication was used in different moments of interaction with the family, from ordinary to more delicate situations, such as the child's death. There were also reports regarding its use with the team of health professionals, as well as the way of communicating the institution's attributions, rules and routines. Nurses' beliefs and values constantly permeated their way of communicating with the family. Final considerations: this research showed that despite the lack of knowledge about TC, professionals have within themselves resources to develop care in which TC is present and with potential for growth.