Support group as a strategy for nursing care for the families of hospitalized newborns

Abstract

ABSTRACT

This descriptive, exploratory, convergent health care study was performed with the objective to describe the methodological trajectory of using group support for providing nursing care to the families of newborns (NB) hospitalized in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), providing emotional support and information. Data were collected from February to March 2010, and the subjects were family members of NBs hospitalized in the NICU of a hospital in the State of Goiás. The group session was conducted as follows: welcoming, introducing the group and establishing the group contract; group process; and evaluation and closing. Conflicts, feelings, interactions, and blockages may appear during the group session, therefore the coordinator must be prepared to understand the movement of the group and conduct the events, thus contributing to the development and the learning of everyone involved. Nurses can use groups to support the families of the NB in the hospital unit, because it helps people cope with the crisis they are living and mitigates their suffering.

Descriptors: User Embracement; Family; Grupos de Autoayuda; Group Practice; Intensive Care Units, Neonatal.