Abstract
The indication of the gastrostomy procedure for children is a moment of crisis for their families, with the rupture of the pattern of family functioning. The decision to perform a gastrostomy involves beliefs and family values, as well as psychological aspects such as coping and family resilience. The aim of this study was to investigate the coping and family resilience of caregivers who decide that their children will have infant gastrostomy. Four main caregivers of children with indication for a gastrostomy answered the COPE Inventory, to evaluate coping strategies and styles, and were interviewed using the interview entitled “Indicators of Family Resilience”, elaborated for this study. The verbal report of caregivers was analyzed using the indicators of familiar resilience proposed by Walsh, adopting the Bardin Content Analysis. The most frequent family resilience indicators were the “Questioning to extract meaning from adversity” and the “Positive perspective”, along with coping strategies characterized by a high frequency of the use of “Active Coping”, “Planning”, “Positive Reinterpretation and Growth”, and “Return to religion”. These findings suggest that families were able to overcome the challenge posed by the infant gastrostomy, and to cope with the adversity in an active and planned way when they reinterpret the experience and attribute a new positive meaning to the situation. We conclude that the resilient and positive decision-making is based on the negotiation of family values and knowledge of the health team. We highlight the empathic work of health professionals with caregivers, strengthening the potential of these to survive and overcome the challenges posed by gastrotomy.
Hospitalized Child; Caregivers; Coping; Resilience
