Objective: To know how children with special health needs access the health care network. Method: This is a qualitative research of descriptive-exploratory type, developed using semi-structured interviews mediated by the Talking Map design. Participants were 19 family caregivers of these children in two Brazilian municipalities. Data were submitted to inductive thematic analysis. Results: Difficulties were mentioned from the diagnosis moment to the specialized follow-up, something represented by the itinerary of the c hild and his/her family in the search for the definition of the medical diagnosis and the access to a specialized professional; a gap between the children’s needs and the care offered was observed in primary health care. Conclusion: The access of children with special health needs is filled with obstacles such as slowness in the process of defining the child’s diagnosis and referral to a specialist. Primary health care services were replaced by care in emergency care units.

Objective: To describe the family dynamics and the social support network for families of children with special needs of multiple, complex and continuous care. Methods: A descriptive study of a qualitative approach, carried out in Maringá - PR, having as theoretical and methodological reference the Calgary Model of Family Assessment (CMFA). Data was collected through semi-structured audio-video interviews, carried out in the homes, together with 11 family caregivers of 13 children. Results: Data is presented in the following categories: structural, developmental and functional evaluation, which show the changes in the family routine and the needs for the adjustment of the roles of its members, in order to better implement the care at home. Conclusions: Using the CMFA made it possible to identify and understand the composition, fragilities and potentialities of the family, as well as the relationships among its members and rearrangements to better enable care at home. This information favors interventions congruent with the needs of these families.

Objective: to understand the experience of being a mother of a child and a nurse working in the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: a research study with a qualitative approach, conducted with 17 participants from different cities of the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Data collection took place in the months of April and May 2020, through semi-structured interviews conducted via an open access virtual communication platform. The data were thematically analyzed, based on the Complexity Paradigm. Results: the absence and mismatch of scientific and systematic information at the beginning of the pandemic, the fragile institutional support, and the concern of contamination of the children generated stress and anguish in the mother-nurses. The support previously offered by schools and family members was hindered by the pandemic, leading to a greater demand for parental care. Creative strategies to provide distraction, as well as religiousness and spirituality were valued to face the chaos experienced. Conclusion: nurses, while being valued as important frontline professionals in the fight against the pandemic, are invisible in their personal-affective dimension and in that of being a mother. The study indicates the need for structural institutional policies so that mother-nurses are placed in a position of equality and safety for the full exercise of the profession and a healthy intra-family relationship, especially in contexts of adversity such as that experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objetivo analisar as contribuições da simulação in situ na autoconfiança de professores da educação infantil e fundamental I com relação ao manejo inicial das intercorrências de saúde na escola. Método estudo quase experimental, do tipo pré e pós-teste. Aplicou-se em 76 professores dois instrumentos pré e pós simulação in situ, os quais foram: escala visual analógica de autoconfiança dos professores para manejo das intercorrências de saúde na escola e questionário para avaliar o conhecimento na temática. A atividade educativa foi composta por quatro cenários de simulação in situ. Os dados foram analisados mediante estatística descritiva e analítica, utilizou-se regressão linear univariada e multivariada. Resultados a comparação dos resultados de autoconfiança pré e pós simulação in situ identificou promoção da autoconfiança (p<0,001) em especial para aqueles professores com menor tempo de experiência profissional (p=0.008), sem vivência prévia semelhante (p=0.003) e que participaram ativamente da simulação (p=0.009). Conclusão os professores sentem-se pouco confiantes para manejar intercorrências de saúde. A simulação in situ elevou a percepção da autoconfiança entre os professores.

Objective: to analyze the effect of parental mutuality on the quality of life related to the health of mothers who care for children with special health needs. Method: an observational, analytical and cross-sectional study with a quantitative approach. The following instruments were applied to 181 caregiving mothers: The Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short Form and Family Management Measure (Parental Mutuality subscale). In the statistical analysis, Spearman’s correlation and univariate and multivariate linear regression were used. Results: the total score of parental mutuality was 30.8, indicating a satisfactory perception of the caregiving mother about the way the couple shares decisions regarding the care of the child. In the multivariate regression analysis, parental mutuality maintained a statistically significant association with the domains of pain, social aspects and emotional limitations of quality of life related to health (p=<0.001, 0.003, 0.002), respectively. Conclusion: parental mutuality has a positive effect on some domains of quality of life related to health. It is recommended to plan actions aimed at strengthening the complicity and connection between the couple, especially in matters related to the care of the child with special health needs.