O sofrimento na perspectiva de pacientes com úlceras venosas

Abstract

Venous ulcers are lesions of the lower limbs caused by chronic venous insufficiency and are characterized as a public health problem. Some authors consider that living with a venous ulcer can cause changes and difficulties in several aspects in the life of the affected person, with negative interferences in the quality of life, in parallel with feelings related to impairment of functional capacity and social relations. However, the presence of suffering defined by the people themselves with venous ulcers is little analyzed in the literature. The objective of the study was to understand the suffering from the perspective of patients with venous ulcers, focusing on their representations about the disease. This is a qualitative research, based on the Theory of Social Representations, from the perspective of Alain Giami. Individual interviews were carried out with 12 patients with venous ulcers, who performed dressings and follow up at Basic Health Units in the city of Belo Horizonte. The data were interpreted based on the Structural Analysis of Narrative and revealed four categories: Context of life; Impact of the existence of the wound in daily life; Representations about the wound: causes, treatment, care, dressing; Expectations regarding wound healing and treatment. The analysis of these representations showed that the suffering is often a reflection of deficient assistance in several aspects, agreeing with what other authors affirm about the repercussion of the inadequate assistance to the patients with venous ulcers that can lead to an injury to remain years without Healing, resulting in a high social and emotional cost. It is believed that this study may contribute to resize the care practices of professionals and shift the focus of care focused only on ulcer care to an integral approach of the patient with lesion, in order to promote a targeted care, providing improvement in the recovery process.