[Social representations of people with diabetes regarding their perception of family support for the treatment]. / Representações sociais de pessoas com diabetes acerca do apoio familiar percebido em relação ao tratamento.

The objective of this qualitative study was to identify the social representations that people with diabetes have on their perception of family support for the treatment. The Theory of Social Representations was used as the theoretical and methodological framework. Participants were 41 people with diabetes assisted at a university in the state of São Paulo in 2007. The focal group strategy was used for data collection, and thematic content analysis was performed. Results revealed three categories: family support is present in the everyday life of people with diabetes; the family does not always support the person with diabetes in his or her needs; the person with diabetes assumes the responsibility to trigger family support. Participants see family support as a relevant factor for the treatment, but they also point out that excessive control from relatives limits their autonomy and originates ambiguous feelings. The multiprofessional team must take into consideration that knowing social representations helps improve the health care delivered to people with diabetes.

Representações sociais de pessoas com diabetes acerca do apoio familiar percebido em relação ao tratamento / Social representations of people with diabetes regarding their perception of family support for the treatment / Representaciones sociales de personas con diabetes respecto del apoyo familiar percibido en relación al tratamiento

Estudo qualitativo, que teve como objetivo identificar as representações sociais de pessoas com diabetes acerca do apoio familiar percebido em relação ao tratamento. Como referencial teórico-metodológico utilizou-se a Teoria das Representações Sociais. Participaram 41 pessoas com diabetes atendidas em um centro universitário do interior paulista em 2007. O grupo focal foi utilizado como estratégia de coleta dos dados. Os dados foram submetidos à análise de conteúdo temática. Os resultados possibilitaram identificar três categorias: o apoio da família está presente no cotidiano da pessoa com diabetes; a família nem sempre apóia a pessoa com diabetes em suas necessidades; a própria pessoa com diabetes toma para si a responsabilidade de despertar o apoio da família. Os participantes reconhecem o apoio familiar como um fator relevante para o tratamento, porém também apontam que o excesso de controle exercido pelos familiares restringe sua autonomia e desperta sentimentos ambíguos. A equipe multiprofissional precisa considerar que o conhecimento das representações socialmente construídas contribui para potencializar a atenção em saúde à pessoa com diabetes.

The objective of this qualitative study was to identify the social representations that people with diabetes have on their perception of family support for the treatment. The Theory of Social Representations was used as the theoretical and methodological framework. Participants were 41 people with diabetes assisted at a university in the state of São Paulo in 2007. The focal group strategy was used for data collection, and thematic content analysis was performed. Results revealed three categories: family support is present in the everyday life of people with diabetes; the family does not always support the person with diabetes in his or her needs; the person with diabetes assumes the responsibility to trigger family support. Participants see family support as a relevant factor for the treatment, but they also point out that excessive control from relatives limits their autonomy and originates ambiguous feelings. The multiprofessional team must take into consideration that knowing social representations helps improve the health care delivered to people with diabetes.

Estudio cualitativo que objetivó identificar las representaciones sociales de personas con diabetes respecto del apoyo familiar percibido en relación al tratamiento. Se utilizó como referencial teórico-metodológico la Teoría de las Representaciones Sociales. Participaron 41 diabéticos atendidos en centro universitario del interior paulista en 2007. Para recolección de datos se usó el grupo focal. Los datos fueron sometidos a análisis de contenido temático. Los resultados identificaron tres categorías: el apoyo familiar está presente en el cotidiano del diabético; la familia no siempre apoya al diabético en sus necesidades; la propia persona diabética toma la responsabilidad de despertar el apoyo familiar. Los participantes destacan al apoyo familiar como factor relevante para el tratamiento, sin embargo reportan que el exceso de control ejercido por familiares restringe su autonomía y despierta sentimientos ambiguos. El equipo multidisciplinario necesita considerar que el conocimiento de las representaciones socialmente construidas contribuye a potencializar la atención sanitaria al diabético.