Maternal perception of child care under dialysis treatment

Abstract

This research presents the perception of mothers, regarding child care under dialysis treatment. A descriptive exploratory study with a qualitative approach, developed in Fortaleza, Brazil, 2009, with 15 mothers who accompanied their children to a dialysis clinic. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews, analyzed and grouped into five categories: knowledge of the disease, major difficulties, perception of treatment, significance of having a child with chronic kidney disease and expectations. The results indicate that the mothers lacked adequate information about the real state of health of the children, besides suffering from continuous exposure to various factors causing stress in the daily care of the sick child. These findings signal the need to implement measures that include the family, especially the mother in a care plan that covers the broad biological and emotional context which they are exposed to.