Importance of families in nursing care for people with mental disorders: attitudes of Portuguese and Brazilian nurses

Abstract

Objective: To characterize and compare the attitudes of nurses working in primary healthcare on the importance of involving the families of people with mental disorders in nursing care. Method: A cross-sectional study carried out in the cities of Porto (Portugal) and São Paulo (Brazil). Data was collected in 2018 using the “The Importance of Families in Nursing Care - Nurses’ Attitudes” scale. Results: There were 250 Portuguese and 250 Brazilian nurses who participated. The total average score on the scale was 86.0 in Portugal and 82.1 in Brazil (with a maximum possible of 104). The variables which influence a more favorable attitude towards the involvement of families in nursing care in the Portuguese context are academic qualifications and age, while in Brazil they are training on Family Nursing and the weekly workload. Conclusion: Participants in both countries have a positive attitude towards families, which constitutes a first step towards their integration in nursing care and also enables advances in mental health politics.

As atitudes dos enfermeiros no cuidado às famílias no contexto da atenção primária à saúde

“…It is currently called the Family Health Strategy (ESF). In 2017, the national primary care policy (PNAB) was approved, which revised the guidelines for the organization of primary care under the unified health system (SUS), with emphasis on actions for increased access to the health system, through the ESF (Nóbrega et al, 2020). The ESF features the coordination of care, a primary element for achieving the continuity of care and fully meeting the health needs of individuals and families (Almeida et al, 2017).…”

“…Nurses play a fundamental role in this scenario, providing comprehensive care for the family in all phases of human development, from birth to old age (Morosini et al, 2018). Consequently, the attitudes that nurses demonstrate towards the family determine the effectiveness of the care offered, since there is a relationship of respect, dignity, communication, and collaboration between the parties when nurses see the family as a unit and partner in the care process (Nóbrega et al, 2020). Attitudes are understood as being the response to a stimulus, which involves affective, cognitive, and behavioral components (Nóbrega et al, 2020), and the connection between what one is inwardly prone to do and the conduct itself, and there may be favorable or unfavorable attitudes (Oliveira et al, 2011).…”

“…Consequently, the attitudes that nurses demonstrate towards the family determine the effectiveness of the care offered, since there is a relationship of respect, dignity, communication, and collaboration between the parties when nurses see the family as a unit and partner in the care process (Nóbrega et al, 2020). Attitudes are understood as being the response to a stimulus, which involves affective, cognitive, and behavioral components (Nóbrega et al, 2020), and the connection between what one is inwardly prone to do and the conduct itself, and there may be favorable or unfavorable attitudes (Oliveira et al, 2011). It should be pointed out that the nurses' attitudes are an important indicator to assess the relationship established between health professionals and family members (Nóbrega et al, 2020).…”

“…Attitudes are understood as being the response to a stimulus, which involves affective, cognitive, and behavioral components (Nóbrega et al, 2020), and the connection between what one is inwardly prone to do and the conduct itself, and there may be favorable or unfavorable attitudes (Oliveira et al, 2011). It should be pointed out that the nurses' attitudes are an important indicator to assess the relationship established between health professionals and family members (Nóbrega et al, 2020). In this perspective, studying support attitudes is an important presupposition for improving the relationship between nurses and families in care practice.…”

“…Moreover, the research that applied the FINC-NA scale included the nurses' attitudes of support to families (Benzein et al, 2008;Chaves et al, 2017;Fernandes et al, 2018;Ribeiro et al, 2018), as well as the factors that hinder a good nurse-family relationship, making the presence of the family a stress factor in the work of this professional group (Luttik et al, 2017;Mixed, 2018;Oliveira et al, 2011;Pascual-Fernández et al, 2015). In reviewing the literature, we noted the small number of studies conducted in Brazil (Angelo et al, 2014;Chaves et al, 2017;Nóbrega et al, 2020;Schultz, 2019), indicating a knowledge gap regarding the importance of the family in Brazilian nursing care, from the perspective of the nursing professional. According to Schwartz et al (2016), the family should be at the center of the discourse of health professionals and present in care planning.…”