CONTINUITY OF CARE FOR PRETERM NEWBORN DISCHARGE FROM THE NEONATAL UNIT: FAMILY EXPERIENCES

Abstract

Objective: to investigate the continuity of care of preterm newborns discharged from the neonatal unit from the perspective of family members. Method: qualitative exploratory study, based on the conceptual perspective of continuity of care, developed with 16 relatives of preterm newborns discharged from a neonatal unit of a university hospital in the state capital of Mato Grosso, Brazil. Data collection occurred from August to November 2019, through semi-structured interviews conducted in the participants’ homes and subsequently submitted to the content analysis technique. Results: the 16 family members reported their perspectives on the continuity of care for preterm newborns who graduated from the neonatal unit, revealing informational fragility in the scope of primary care and other health services; a satisfactory relationship through the link with the service in which the child was born, which is materialized by the access to the follow-up outpatient clinic; and difficulty access to care, lack of articulation and communication between the different levels of care, compromising the implementation of the reference and counter-reference between the services. Conclusion: the continuity of care after discharge is brokered by the family itself, due to its protagonism and autonomy when caring for the child in the neonatal unit. Regardless of whether health services act in an articulated way, families seek health spaces, information and sources of support to support care.