The social network of adolescents who need special health care

Abstract

Objective: To describe the social network of adolescents who need special health care. Method: A qualitative, descriptive and exploratory study conducted between 2016 and 2017 in the pediatric outpatient clinic of a teaching hospital in southern Brazil. Thirty-five semi-structured interviews were conducted with adolescents between 12 and 18 years of age, followed by the construction of genograms and ecomaps. After transcription, the enunciations were subjected to Pêcheux’s method of discourse analysis. Results: The institutional network consists of health services, schools and religious entities, as well as adolescents’ families and friends. In the family network, women family members—such as mothers, grandmothers and aunts—have a special role. Final Consideration: The adolescents’ social network is composed of institutional and family circles. In the view of adolescents, the tertiary service is more capable of solving their problems, and for this reason used the most. In order to ensure these adolescents access to and continuity of care, the articulation between health policies and health services is suggested.