SIMOES, Sandra; PIRES, António    BARROCA, Ana. Comportamento parental face à cardiopatia congénita. []. , 28, 4, pp.619-630. ISSN 0870-8231.

The purpose of this study is to understand the parental behavior towards to congenital heart disease. The participants of this study are 14 mothers e 2 dads (both parents were present in 2 interviews) of children diagnosed with congenital heart disease, with ages between 21 days and 13 years. Based on Grounded Theory, fourteen semi-structured interviews were analyzed, which five of them belongs to a previous study (Barroca, 2003). Since diagnose is communicated, the parents and family life is altered, becoming their primary worry the fear of children’s death related to the uncertainty of diagnose. Being surgery incident at this study, the possibility of persistent symptoms or the necessity of new surgery, promotes a felling of threat to the parental confidence, conducing to a suspended parenthood, centered at the children’s disease.

: Chronic disease; Congenital heart disease; Grounded theory; Parental behavior.

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