Analysis of care from the experiences of mothers of children with cerebral palsy

Abstract

The study aims to analyze care from the experiences of care given to mothers of children with Cerebral Palsy (CP).  Using the Heideggerian hermeneutic theoretical framework, it brings insights to the health professionals to consider human subjectivities in the process of care. Semi structured interviews were carried out with 15 mothers, at NAMI (the Center of Integral Medical Attention), University of Fortaleza, from February to August, 2011. After transcribing the interviews, the corpus was organized using an analytic table, allowing horizontal and vertical explorations and identification of units of meaning from the mother’s experiences. These units of meaning converged on the predefined Heideggerian categories such as cotidianity, rupture, anguish and authenticity. From Heidegger’s phenomenological analysis, we certify that the process of care by mothers caring for children with CP can be approached as a way of being in which there is the possibility of an encounter with Being itself in care. The findings point to the urgency of considering alterity in care practices, which brings the possibility of new prospects and reviewing the quality of care offered by the health workers.