When the communication is harmful in the encounter between health professional and family of hospitalized child

Abstract

Introduction: Identify harmful effects of communication between health professionals and families of hospitalized children. Methods: Descriptive exploratory research. Data were collected during sessions of a Support Group to Parents and Family (SGPF) through recording on digital media, and analyzed using a procedure known as "boxes" which began of pre-defined categories, in this case, typical forms of communication and the elements that characterize them. It had been part of group sessions individuals who agreed to be part of the study, signing the Informed Consent Form and who met the following inclusion criteria: age of 18 years old or over and belong to a family of a hospitalized child in Pediatric Inpatient Unit investigated in the period of data collection. Results: The analysis of the material resulted in the proposition of categories: "Meeting in an impersonal way and purely technical", "Orders and moral lessons" and "Contradictory Messages". Conclusions: Fear, uncertainty, stress and anxiety, identified in the speeches of the group participants, indicate harmful effects with respect to the use or non-use, communication, and suggest that the behavior of some professionals is grounded in the biomedical model of health care assistance.