Mudou. Muita coisa mudou: a repercussão do traumatismo raquimedular na família

Abstract

The present study investigated the repercussions on routine and family relationships after the occurrence of spinal cord injury (SCI) in one of its members. A qualitative, exploratory study was carried out, together with the families of young adults with spinal cord injury, attended at a School Clinic of the Physiotherapy Course of a Higher Education Institution located in the city of Lauro de Freitas-BA. Six people participated in the study, three of them with SCI and the family member considered by them as their main caregiver. We included in the study the families that had in their living together a family member with spinal cord injury secondary to trauma and older than 18 years. Families whose relatives had less than one year of spinal cord injury and were not able to verbalize were excluded from the study. A questionnaire containing questions that investigated the profile of the informant and his or her primary caregiver followed by a semi-structured interview was used as a data collection instrument. The results show that the family routine has undergone changes, especially that of the main family caregiver, being care of the person with SCI developed by a female family caregiver. Changes were observed in the family and social support networks of the person with SCI after the onset of trauma. Religiousness / spirituality was employed by the person with SCI and his or her main family caregiver as a coping strategy for the disability situation. It was evidenced the absence of an effective state support network that favors the social participation of people with disabilities and provides social support to their family.