Family resilience to illness and disability
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29352/mill0218e.40262Keywords:
family system; resilience; illness; health promotionAbstract
Introduction: Family resilience is a complex process that can play a role in protecting health when facing stressful events such as illness.
Objective: To analyze the processes of family resilience built up in the experience of illness and/or disability.
Methods: This was a qualitative, descriptive, and exploratory study using interviews and thematic analysis. Seven adults took part, selected by snowball, who had experienced family situations involving paraplegia, congenital malformation, severe asthma, stroke, and dementia. The thematic map was based on Froma Walsh's conceptualization of family resilience.
Results: Experiencing the illness initially generated psychological and physical suffering in the family system, dependency, conflicts, and the perception of lack of care (little professional empathy). The key processes of family resilience involved positive beliefs (spirituality, acceptance), organizational patterns (support from professionals/friends), and communication (family openness to sharing feelings). Families also experienced a transformation, with gains and weaknesses, while also assuming future expectations.
Conclusion: From the interviewees' point of view, their families showed a capacity for positive adaptation and transformation in the face of illness, towards healthy functioning. The fact that health professionals were recognized as being important in building resilience processes, but were not always present, points to the need for a better understanding of the issue and for interventions that are sensitive to the needs of families.
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