My role and responsibility: mothers’ perspectives on overload in caring for children with cancer*

Abstract

Objective: To understand the experience of maternal overload in caring for children with cancer from the mother’s perspective. Method: Symbolic Interactionism was adopted as a theoretical framework and the Grounded Theory as methodological framework. The study was conducted in a public hospital, which is reference in pediatric oncology. Data was collected from six mothers through semi-structured interviews in the second semester of 2017. Results: Mothers of children with cancer attributed meaning to the care experience when trying to cope with the emotional, social, physical, financial, family-related, information and moral overload. Maternal overload arises as a dynamic inter-relation process between the many types of overload. Conclusion: The maternal figure is the main person involved in care and experiences overload in caring for their sick child, facing limitations and responsibilities. The research acted as a key element to broaden the analysis and intervention of the family nurse, not only contributing to the theoretical construct related to maternal overload, but also and mainly to the scope of practice in patient care.

Impactos na saúde da mulher mãe cuidadora de criança com câncer

“…A vida social de toda a família fica abalada, uma vez que, passeios, festas ou viagens se tornam eventos raros devido à baixa imunidade da criança com câncer. (Andrade et al, 2014) Todavia, as relações da mulher-mãe cuidadora são as que mais sofrem mudanças, pois ela fica a maior parte do tempo com o filho, e em alguns casos o acesso às redes sociais é a única forma que elas encontram para manter uma relação social (Vieira & Cunha, 2020).…”

Socioeconomic status and severity of traffic accident injuries: a cross-sectional study

“…Injuries from car accidents are the ninth foremost cause of death and the ninth foremost cause of disability worldwide (4). It has been showed that the number of traffic accidents and their casualties were increased by many factors such as the increase in the number of vehicles, the high number of injured in each accident, the traffic control situation in low income countries, and the inadequacy of health infrastructure, especially the lack of quick access to emergency services (5,6). Although low-income and middle-income countries have less than half of the world's vehicles, they stand to account for more than 90% of all driving-related death (7).…”