From theory to practice: the inclusion of hospitalized children’s families in painful procedures

OBJECTIVE: To understand nursing team professionals’ strategies to include the family in painful procedures performed on hospitalized children. METHOD: An exploratory-descriptive, qualitative study, carried out with nursing professionals. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, guided by a script of topics, transcribed and submitted to thematic content analysis, in the light of Symbolic Interactionism, discussed considering the Family-Centered Care philosophy assumptions. RESULTS: Two central categories emerged, “Theoretical perspective: the family as a care agent in painful procedures” and “Practical perspective: experiences, challenges and strategies in painful procedures for family inclusion”, with their respective subcategories. CONCLUSION: Nursing professionals have theoretical knowledge about family inclusion in painful procedures based on the assumptions: Family-Centered Care: dignity and respect; information sharing; joint participation; and family collaboration. However, knowledge is not applied in clinical practice; consequence of the interaction between beliefs and attitudes unfavorable to family presence.