ABSTRACT
Objective:
To understand the social support of families with tracheostomized children.
Method:
Qualitative study using the Model of Dimensions of Social Support together with the Family System-Illness model as theoretical frameworks, based on the hybrid model of thematic analysis. Nine families with tracheostomized children were interviewed in an outpatient pediatric otorhinolaryngology department of a public hospital in the inner state of São Paulo.
Results:
The experience of social support to each phase of the family experience was presented in three themes: “Knowing the need for a tracheostomy”, “Performing a tracheostomy” and “Living with a tracheostomy”.
Final considerations:
Understanding how the experience of social support occurs can support assessment and intervention strategies, aiming to meet the demands of the family at each phase of its trajectory, collaborating for a continuous and integral nursing care.
Descriptors:
Social Support; Pediatric Nursing; Family Relations; Tracheostomy; Chronic Diseases