RESUMO CONTEXTO:A adolescência é um período da vida em que o desenvolvimento físico e psicossocial se associa a tarefas evolutivas de mudanças de comportamentos e de atitudes. Quando se une uma doença crónica, a estrutura de vida do adolescente necessita de readaptação e de estratégias de enfrentamento de novas situações. Este processo requer que o adolescente obtenha novos conhecimentos e que haja uma redefinição da sua vida e da sua personalidade. BACKGROUND: Adolescence is a period of life when the physical and psychosocial development is connected with developmental tasks of changes in behavior and attitudes. When joined together with a chronic illness, the teenager's life structure requires an upgrade and new coping strategies for the upcoming situation. This process involves the acquisition of new knowledge by the teenager and a redefinition of his/her life and his/her personality. AIM: The purpose of this study was to understand the experiences of adolescents with cystic fibrosis. METHODS: Implanted in a qualitative research paradigm, we adopted the Meleis' Theory of Transitions (2010) as a theoretic referential and the methodology of the Grounded Theory for data analysis. 16 adolescents with CF were interviewed, previously selected by the "snowball" technique. OBJETIVO(S): RESULTS & CONCLUSION:With the obtained results we highlight the rise of what we believe to be an awareness behavior during the health/illness process, which according to the Meleis' Theory (2010) is crucial for the adolescent as it allows him/her to experience changes and adopt accommodation promoting-like behaviors to this new life style in order to improve the quality of life.KEYWORDS: Adolescents; Cystic fibrosis; Mental health RESUMEN "El adolescente con fibrosis quística: Crecer en la diferencia" CONTEXTO: La adolescencia es un periodo de la vida en que el desarrollo físico y psicosocial se asocia a las tareas evolutivas de cambios de comportamientos y de actitudes. Cuando se une una enfermedad crónica, la estructura de vida del adolescente necesita de readaptación y de estrategias de enfrentamiento de nuevas situaciones. Este proceso requiere que el adolescente obtenga nuevos conocimientos y que haya una redefinición de su vida y de su personalidad. OBJETIVO(S):

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Objectives:to search for nursing interventions focused on the improvement of quality of life and promotion of self-care of adolescents suffering from the Cystic Fibrosis. Method:literature review. The inclusion criteria were: primary studies and studies with interventions developed by nurses in the adolescent population with Cystic Fibrosis, using Portuguese, Spanish, French and English with no time limit, and supported by the databases Scopus, Web of Science and CINAHL. The search expressions were: nursing AND care AND adolescent AND "Cystic Fibrosis" AND ("quality of life" OR "self-care"). Results:a total of 59 articles was retrieved; 8 matched the criteria chosen. Nursing interventions targeted at adolescents with Cystic Fibrosis and their family members were identified. These interventions were organized according to the nurses' role, namely caregiver, coordinator, counsellor, researcher, trainer and care partner. Conclusions:nursing interventions targeted at following up the adolescent during the entire therapeutic process, involving the presence of parents/significant others, since both the adolescent and family have to be responsible for self-care. Healthcare professionals should be capable of identifying the specific needs of patients with chronic disease and their family, permitting a better understanding and adaptation to the health-disease transition process.

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